Utility August 2016 Digital Edition

www.utilitymagazine.com.au

Issue #11, August 2016

Engineering, Construction & Maintenance

INNOVATION IN WATER TREATMENT INSIDE THE AGILE UTILITY SMARTER

ASSET

MANAGEMENT TRAINING THE INDUSTRY’S NEXT GENERATION WATER

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Issue #11, August 2016

Engineering, Construction & Maintenance

UTILITY MAGAZINE

INNOVATION IN WATER TREATMENT

ECK

August 2016

INSIDE THE AGILE UTILITY SMARTER

ASSET

FROM THE

AUGUST 2016

MANAGEMENT TRAINING THE INDUSTRY’S NEXT GENERATION WATER

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SEWER

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ELECTRICITY

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GAS

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EDITOR

NBN

Cover image shows Melbourne Water's Western Treatment Plant in Werribee.

6,443 1 October 2015 - 31 March 2016

Published by

Monkey Media Enterprises ABN: 36 426 734 954 PO Box 1763 Preston South VIC 3072 P: (03) 9988 4950 monkeymedia.com.au info@monkeymedia.com.au utilitymagazine.com.au info@utilitymagazine.com.au ISSN: 2203-2797 Publisher and Editor Chris Bland Managing Editor Laura Harvey Contributing Editor Michelle Goldsmith Associate Editor Jessica Dickers Marketing Director Amanda Kennedy Marketing Consultant Aaron White Production and Customer Service Titian Bartlau Senior Designer Alejandro Molano Designer Jacqueline Buckmaster Contributing Designer Sandy Noke

W

ith renewables, storage and digital technologies continuing to shake up the power sector and gas utilities facing regulation and supply uncertainty, the industry’s most reliable sector continues to be water.

The water sector is not only providing a reliable stream of construction and maintenance projects across Australia, from new water treatment plants to drain cleaning, but it seems the volume of projects is also increasing.

Reflecting this trend, I’m excited that we will be distributing this issue of Utility at the Water Industry Operators Association (WIOA) conference in Bendigo at the end of August, where we’ll see the sector share information and explore the latest technologies and tools that are helping achieve this upward trajectory.

Many of our readers have asked us for more regular and detailed information on things like policy developments, project updates and contracts awarded, so to meet this need we have set up the Utility Information Service. The first product that this service has released is the monthly Water Report.

The Water Report delivers, to your inbox, the latest news on water policy and regulations, updates on key projects in every state and a comprehensive list of who has been awarded contracts. It’s a key guide for companies to keep up with the

developments of the sector and a useful tool to support future planning.

You can sign up for a trial of the report and get the latest issue for free at waterreport.com.au.

While the water sector is providing stability, the Northern Gas Pipeline project, previously known as NEGI, is a major gas project that’s helping to accelerate the development and viability of the gas sector in the Northern Territory. Jemena NGP Project Director Jonathan Spink has expressed his confidence in how well the project is progressing, with the steel order having been sent to the supplier and several subcontracts out to tender.

Aside from new projects, the power and water sectors have also been focusing on celebrating the achievements of women working in utilities. This issue of Utility profiles leading women in analytical chemistry, gas metering, data services and corrosion protection engineering.

Although some parts of the energy sector remain quiet, given the current positive developments in the water sector and the progress of several significant power projects, I‘m confident that utilities are heading in the right direction for the rest of 2016.

I look forward to catching up with many of you at WIOA and other future events to continue the discussion.

Chris Bland Publisher and Editor

I S S U E 11

www.utilitymagazine.com.au

CONTENTS

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WATER OPERATIONS The water industry's best practice operations managers.................. 16 Keeping drinking water delightful...................................... 20 25 years of innovative water treatment...................................... 22

TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY Advocating for trenchless........... 38 World’s first wastewater pumping system with integrated intelligence................................... 30 Smarter solutions for smarter water............................... 32 Power your needs with reliable transfer switching equipment..... 34

Navigating challenging waters... 26 How do you find out if the water you drink is safe from contaminants?.............................. 29

82

GAS PIPELINES Where is NEGI now?.................... 82 WOMEN IN UTILITIES Breaking down barriers............... 84

4

38

Sydney takes smart approach to water metering data.................... 36

How mobile is your microtunnelling contractor?....... 41 Interflow signs strategic alliance .42 Overcoming sewer challenges using microtunnelling................. 44 Equipped and underway: turnkey solution enhances HDD construction................................. 46 There’s no better time for drain rehabilitation................ 48

88

DRAIN CLEANING Reducing flood risk through drain cleaning........................................ 88

92

CABLES Should Tasmania build a second interconnector?............................ 92 Cable testing enhances reliability of power network......................... 96

STORMWATER More than just managing runoff............................................ 50

ASSET MANAGEMENT LiDAR lights the way for a safer power network............................. 60

Smart stormwater solutions....... 52

Working together to benefit small water utilities................................ 64

OPINION Agile organisations: what can utilities learn from defence forces?............................ 54

Revolutionising the utility inspection field............................. 66 Centimetre accuracy with augmented reality............... 68

I S S U E 11

August 2016

60

50

72

NETWORKS How to protect networks against momentary outages.................... 72 SCADA Coliban Water’s three-stage SCADA enhancement.................. 74 PIPE & CONDUIT Making a declaration for the environment................................. 78

Water is our business.................. 70

In each issue Editor’s welcome...................................................1 A word from the ENA........................................... 6

76 100 72 NBN Engineering Australia’s broadband future.......................................... 100

News briefs............................................................ 8 Ask an Expert..................................................... 104 Advertisers’ index............................................. 108 Editorial schedule............................................. 108 5

A WORD FROM THE ENA JOHN BRADLEY CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER – ENERGY NETWORKS ASSOCIATION

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ustralian’s love of digital devices is growing stronger every day, with our lifestyle increasingly controlled at the tips of our fingers.

The connected home has, on average, two TVs, laptops, tablets and smartphones.

A recent study found smartphone ownership at 81 per cent and tablet ownership at approximately 62 per cent of respondents1.

Our devices enable more than communication and convenience. They are a source of addictive entertainment.

Angry Birds, said to be the most successful mobile app, has been called a “masterpiece of addictiveness” because it’s simple – there’s no learning curve, it’s realistic, rewarding, and funny2. It’s a biophysical effect – psychologists have identified that the anticipation of “reward” puts our dopamine system into overdrive, making it compulsive to want to know what will happen when you fling the next bird3.

Some energy-oriented apps are increasingly adopting the principles that made Angry Birds such a phenomenal success to assist customers in managing their energy use. These energy apps are engaging energy customers and supporting their interaction with the energy system like never before, with the ultimate goal of creating value for customers and a more sustainable energy system.

The best apps recognise the human preferences that can cause engagement strategies to fail. Simplicity and a sense of reward is key in new platforms being trialled across Australia and internationally.

In Victoria, electricity distributor United Energy used “gamification” and a smartphone app to successfully reduce peak demand by more than 30 per cent.

The trial targeted peak usage between 4pm and 7pm, with four events occurring over the 2015/16 summer.

Each home was provided with an individualised energy use goal for the peak

energy system, through access to information, choice and control, was a clear focus for over 800 Australian and international energy industry leaders who gathered in Adelaide in May for Energy Networks 2016.

Keynote speaker Basil Scarsella from UK Power Networks described the fourth industrial revolution – the digital revolution, where technological advancement is blurring the lines between the digital and the physical, creating a cyber-physical system and providing increased capability for the exchange of energy services.

Ann Burns, Managing Director Resources ANZ, Accenture, told conference delegates the next generation energy customer doesn’t want products or services, they want experiences, and they want to engage with the industry in three clicks or less. Ms Burns told delegates, “I don’t actually want to talk to you, but I want it on my phone and I want to push it with my button”.

Chris Black, from energy services company Tendril Inc, reiterated the sentiment. “Millennials have been taught that they can pull out their phone and demand any product or any service from anywhere, at any time.”

Energy networks are embracing the change and connecting millions of customers for a smarter, cleaner system. Smart technology is offering new opportunities for choice and customisation – for communication, entertainment and essential services, like energy.

For Australian energy customers, the grid will be a key element in the future energy system, but it will be used differently, providing new services and technology, while maintaining the safe and reliable electricity and gas services that customers depend on.

Smart apps are providing new ways for customers to manage their interaction with the energy system, to make different choices about energy use and generation, and support the efficiency of the system – all at the swipe of their fingers.

Deloitte Media Consumer Survey 2015, Australian media and digital preferences – 4th edition, www2.deloitte.com/au/en/pages/technology-media-andtelecommunications/articles/media-consumer-survey-2015 2 https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/world-wide-mind/201101/how-i-kicked-my-addiction-the-iphone-game-angry-birds 3 https://aytm.com/blog/research-junction/angry-birds-addiction/ 1

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event period, based on historic energy use data. The app communicated demand response event messages via mobile push and email notifications, tracked events and advised customers of their reward based on event performance.

In New Zealand, electricity retailer Flick Electric Co, offers a free app, Choice, that shows the current electricity mix and real-time carbon impact of electricity being consumed. It engages customers in the dynamics of electricity production and consumption and sends “dirty alerts” that help customers make the choice to use more electricity when there is a greater proportion of renewables in the mix, and cut back their consumption when the proportion of non-renewables is high.

The reward, Flick says, is not only helping to change the energy mix and reduce the carbon impact, but also lower prices, because Flick gives their customers access to wholesale electricity prices direct from the spot market. When the mix is cleaner, the price tends to be lower.

Back in Australia, AusNet Services, another Victorian energy distributor, sends customers with a grid-connected solar system an SMS when their smart meter readings indicate the customer’s solar PV installation is not exporting power to the grid. The SMS prompts the customer to check their installation is operating correctly and directs customers to a troubleshooting fact sheet.

Horizon Power, the electricity distributor across regional and remote Western Australia, is trialling a new way of charging for electricity, looking to beat the peak and avoid infrastructure investment in Port Hedland. Horizon Power is supporting customers in making the transition with a smartphone app that gives them access to their near real-time electricity usage data.

During the pilot, participants are given a consumption allowance for each hour of the peak period, and financial incentives to stay within that allowance by shifting their consumption to off-peak periods.

This new customer relationship with the

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NEWS

WASTE TO ENERGY IN BONDI

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s part of a renewable energy project, Sydney Water’s Bondi Wastewater Treatment Plant is currently producing enough energy from waste to power the entire plant.

New South Wales Minister for Primary Industries, Land and Water Niall Blair announced the project milestone at an inspection of the plant’s process.

“The NSW Government is committed to finding new and better ways to lower the amount of electricity we use from the grid, not only to benefit the environment, but also to reduce operating costs of utilities and lower customers’ bills,” Mr Blair said.

“This project is yet another great example of Sydney Water using research and innovation to turn Biogas into renewable energy to power the entire plant, which benefits the environment and reduces operating costs.

“Not only will this project minimise the impact on the electricity grid network, it will also be able to return 13 per cent net energy back to the grid – which is enough to power about 150 households a year,” Mr Blair said.

New South Wales Member for Vaucluse Gabrielle Upton said the project will be of great benefit to the environment and local residents.

“It is great to see that the Bondi Plant, which treats the waste of 300,000 people in the area, will now be able to turn a waste product into a valuable resource for our community,” Ms Upton said.

“The renewable energy process will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions of around 8,000 tonnes a year from Bondi alone, and this is a great outcome for our local environment.”

Sydney Water is generating more than 20 per cent of its total energy needs across its network through a number of innovative renewable energy projects. This has also reduced greenhouse emissions by over 70,000 tonnes a year.

THE NEW FACE OF QUEENSLAND ELECTRICITY

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nergy Queensland, the result of a merger between Ergon Energy and Energex, has been officially launched and now brings the state’s electricity network under a single company.

Queensland Treasurer Curtis Pitt and Energy Minister Mark Bailey hailed it a win for Queensland households and businesses.

Mr Pitt said, “Energy Queensland has been created to deliver better outcomes for customers, for employees and for our communities.

“It will not only effectively manage the state’s electricity network, but prepare it for demands of the future in a transitioning energy sector.

“Energy Queensland will have an asset base of over $24 billion and will serve more than 4.8 million people following a staged transition process.”

Mr Bailey said, “This is more than simply bringing organisations together – today we establish the means of ensuring that the electricity grid that underpins our economy will remain at the core of how customers choose to use electricity.

“Rather than sell these assets to the private sector and watch power prices soar, our commitment to keeping our electricity assets in public hands has enabled us to take action to stabilise prices, and to create Energy Queensland.”

Minister Assisting the Premier on North Queensland and Member for Mundingburra Coralee O’Rourke said Energy Queensland’s Townsville headquarters ensured the company would have a strong regional presence.

The existing boards of Ergon and Energex will remain in place until 30

September 2016 to leverage their knowledge of the businesses and allow a smooth transition.

Mr Bailey said the creation of an energy services business as part of the merger was key to ensuring that Energy Queensland is able to meet and adapt to changes and developments in the rapidly evolving energy market.

At the same time as the launch of the new business, new retail electricity market reforms deregulating electricity prices in Queensland came into effect, increasing market competition and opening up the market to South-East Queensland users.

Mr Bailey said, “The deregulation of South East Queensland’s market will further bolster competition, and electricity customers will soon have access to a wider range of innovative electricity products and deals.”

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NEWS

NEW WIND FARMS FOR VIC AND SA

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wo new wind farms have been approved for construction in Victoria, and a new wind farm in South Australia is now delivering electricity back into the grid.

Victoria Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio has signed contracts with global renewable companies ACCIONA Energy and Windlab for wind farm projects in Mt Gellibrand and Kiata.

The construction of the two new wind farms will forward $220 million of new investment and create hundreds of new jobs.

Ms D’Ambrosio said she was proud to be rebuilding confidence renewables.

“We’re proud to be rebuilding much needed confidence in the renewable energy industry following the neglect of Liberal governments at both state and federal levels over recent years,”

Ms D’Ambrosio said.

It is expected that these new wind farms will generate enough electricity to power 80,000 homes, totalling approximately 100MW of capacity.

In South Australia, the first stage of French renewable energy company Neoen Australia’s Hornsdale wind farm near Jamestown is officially open and has begun generating energy into the grid.

South Australia is the largest producer of wind energy in Australia, and Hornsdale is an optimal wind farm site due to its access to strong wind, links to a high capacity power network that links Adelaide with the industrial north, and its relative distance from populated areas.

The electricity generated from Hornsdale will connect directly into the National Electricity Transmission Grid.

South Australia Climate Change

Minister Ian Hunter said, “As we look to continue our move to a low carbon economy, we need to unlock the full potential of our state’s renewable assets and this new wind farm is an important next step in ensuring sustainable energy supply for the state’s future.”

At maximum capacity, stage one of the farm is expected to generate 100 MW which could power up to 70,000 homes.

Stage one of Hornsdale wind farm was awarded a feed-in tariff for 100MW of generation under the ACT Government’s innovative reverse auction scheme in 2015.

The ACT Government also awarded stage two of the Hornsdale project a feed-in tariff for an additional 100MW at a then-record low price of $77 per megawatt hour.

AUSNET TO UPGRADE TRANSMISSION LINE

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usNet Services is proceeding with upgrades to the Moorabool to Ballarat Transmission Line, ensuring a secure and reliable power supply to Victoria’s north-west.

AusNet Senior Project Manager Anshul Srivastava said, “AusNet Services is committed to working with local communities and key stakeholders to keep them informed and up-to-date as the project progresses.

“We have listened to landowners during the planning phase and have designed our approach to minimise potential impacts to farming activities and local traffic.”

AusNet has appointed specialist power and water consulting firm Entura to deliver community and stakeholder engagement strategy development and implementation support for the upgrade.

“We’re pleased to continue to partner with Entura in this next phase of the project,” Mr Srivastava said.

AusNet initially engaged Entura in early 2015 to prepare the planning application and associated community Project map consultation work.

The planning permit applications, submitted to councils in September 2015, have been approved and works to upgrade the transmission line are about to commence.

As part of this next phase, Entura will support the preparation of the Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) and the planning approval conditions through the life of the upgrade works.

Entura Customer Strategy and Market Development Director Dale Bryce said, “Working closely with head contractor Zinfra, Entura will ensure the CEMP is delivered according to the permit’s conditions and will undertake stakeholder engagement planning and implementation during construction."

AusNet Services plans to complete the upgrade by early 2017.

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NEWS

SPATIAL EXCELLENCE CELEBRATED

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he Asia Pacific Spatial Excellence Awards, hosted by the Spatial Industries Business Association (SIBA), Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute (SSSI) and Geospatial Information and Technology Association (GITA), were recently held in Melbourne, with over 350 professionals celebrating the accomplishments of their colleagues.

The evening featured the work of Asia Pacific based professionals working around the world on both collaborative business projects and philanthropic efforts.

The award winners were as follows: GITA Australia and New Zealand Excellence Award: Northern Territory Department of Communication and Information Services & Global GBM • GITA Australia and New Zealand Dial Before You Dig Performance Award: Unitywater • Award for Innovation and Commercialisation: Geomatic Technologies – Bushfire • Clearance Safety Program Award for People and Community: DigitalGlobe, CRCSI, NGIS Australia – Cyclone Pam • Crisis Map Educational Development Award: Professor Matt Duckham • Award for Environment and Sustainability: Federation University Australia, Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation, Corangamite Catchment Management Authority – Project Corangamite Soil Health Knowledge Base •

•

• •

• • • • • • • •

Spatial Enablement Award: Monteath and Powys – Deformation Survey of Newcastle Breakwalls Utilising UAV Technology SSSI Young Professional of the Year Award: Beau Thorley Award for Export: OMNILINK Pty Ltd – Improving Education Property Portfolio Management in the United Kingdom SSSI Undergraduate Student Award: Robert Dicker SSSI Postgraduate Student Award: Amir Khodabendeh Award for Technical Excellence: Dale Harris, Interpret Geospatial Solutions Submission title: Vehicle speed and curve risk modelling for road safety Professional of the Year: Professor Abbas Rajabifard SIBA Chairman’s Award: Drew Clarke SSSI President’s Award: James Curnow The JK Barrie Award for Overall Excellence: DigitalGlobe, CRCSI, NGIS Australia – Cyclone Pam Crisis Map

The Locate17 Conference and APSEA event will be held at the International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney), aligned with the International Symposium on Digital Earth in April 2017.

HYBRID FIBRE COAXIAL LAUNCH IN QLD

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bn has launched its first Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) services to retail service providers in Redcliffe, Queensland.

Around 18,000 premises are now ready for service and providers can now connect customers to the NBN network. nbn has extended and upgraded the former cable networks of Telstra and Optus to deliver HFC services on the NBN network.

This means homes and businesses in the Redcliffe area will now be able to order an nbn service and access peak wholesale speeds. nbn currently has plans to have 875,000 HFC premises ready for service with 200,000 of those end-user premises activated on the NBN network by June 2017.

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NEWS

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COMDAIN OPENS NEW CORPORATE HEAD OFFICE

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omdain Infrastructure recently opened its brand new, purposebuilt corporate head office and operational centre in Epping, Victoria with Victorian Water Minister, Lisa Neville in attendance.

The new $9 million facility showcases Comdain’s commitment to provide clients and partners with service delivery excellence, industryleading IT and technology systems, and the latest innovations in energy and costs savings.

As well as providing an enhanced working environment for staff, the new office consolidates corporate, the engineering team, the asset management services team, and the systems group to the one convenient location.

The facility has currently 1,500 square metres of office space, and there’s a further 800 square metres available to cater to future growth. The

new 2,000 square metre warehouse includes mechanical, tool storage, and fittings areas.

Design technology incorporated into the building includes uninterrupted power supply (UPS), with battery back-up for continuous power if supply has been cut. Meeting rooms, named after the seven largest rivers in Australia, feature Evoko ‘touch and schedule’ fingertip room-booking intelligence. In addition, over 200 data points for phone, computer, print and communications have been installed.

Energy and cost savings that feature as part of the building include scheduled and motion sensing LED illumination controls to prevent lights being left on, double-glazed windows and insulated walls, and energy efficient air-conditioning systems.

Use of recycled material also features heavily in the building’s design.

Comdain Chief Executive Officer

PETER COEN AND LISA NEVILLE AT THE OPENING OF COMDAIN’S NEW HEAD OFFICE.

Peter Coen said, “The building is an investment in optimising functionality and efficiency for all our staff, subcontractors, suppliers and ultimately our clients.

"Combining the corporate team with the asset management, engineering, land development and systems group teams is a major benefit for business functionality."

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WAT E R O P E RAT I O N S

The water industry’s

BEST PRACTICE OPERATIONS MANAGERS

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tility caught up with Mr Weeden and Mr Pennel to discuss their roles in making sure water operations run smoothly on the Gold Coast.

KENT WEEDEN My role is Civil Works Supervisor and I currently manage a team of 45.

Depending what happened the night prior, a standard day will start with plenty of phone calls. Those calls

16

can range from a training issue, to a tricky construction problem. With a large group there are always issues to address, both personal and work based. So I am wearing different hats straight up most days. I also have plenty of calls and emails from consultants, project managers and payroll department, just to name a few.

We have some large infrastructure projects on the move at the moment, the Commonwealth Games are here on the Gold Coast in 2018 so this means major upgrades of existing infrastructure are required, and we are implementing plenty of new projects too. We are currently restructuring our teams to ensure we comply with the City of Gold Coast’s new Fatigue Management Policy, which can be interesting times for a true 24/7 business. We also have been gaining plenty of strong accreditations for our field staff. The Water Industry Worker Program has been building for five years now and gives field staff an opportunity to be recognised for their experience and learn skills, which in turn provides them with a National

accreditation from Cert II to Diploma.

One of the biggest challenges of recent years has been ongoing business change. In the last six years we went from Gold Coast Water (GCW), a business unit within Gold Coast City Council, then as a result of State Government water reform we became Allconnex Water – a regional water utility which was then dissolved after a couple of years. We are now back as a directorate within the City of Gold Coast. New process, new systems, policies and procedures – just as we work out how to efficiently implement these changes it’s time to learn something new, so we’ve certainly been kept on our toes!

It’s amazing that in that time our role and responsibility for supplying safe drinking water to the community can be done so many different ways.

Another big challenge is the “changing of the guard”. I have been here for 24 years and continue to witness some really experienced old chaps leaving in addition to welcoming exciting young staff joining the industry. Plenty of long term planning is required for a smooth

transition.

Finally, one of the biggest changes I have witnessed is safety culture.

What use to be deemed as “just blokes leaning on shovels” has turned into one of the most highly regulated industries there is. There are plenty of documented risk assessments for every task we do to help keep us accountable for the safety of ourselves and others.

Like most large water businesses there is always lots going on. We are about to welcome more internal changes which will see approximately 100 staff from waste and resource management and catchment management amalgamate with the water directorate. There have been plenty of suggestions for the new directorate name, so watch this space!

New technologies have been met with mixed emotions from our staff. All of our crew members who work out in the field now utilise iPads. Crews receive work orders via that device and a new requirement for them is to log job progress with real time data so customers are always kept up-to-date

with the latest information. The young guys love new technology but most of the older guys, well, let’s just say they’re not as excited! Some other new types of technologies such as condition assessment tools are really starting to gain traction. Ultrasonics, smart ball, intelligent pigs, electronic metering, the list goes on. CCTV and sonding has come a long way too; sewer rats and or bats have a place too.

I am hoping that in the next ten years, all people that work in a water business will have an accreditation, no matter what your role. Also I envisage that there will be young people flocking to the industry because they will see it’s an industry that will be here forever, and it really is a fine career choice. There are just so many options depending on your skill set and area of interest. No matter how the world evolves, people will still turn on their tap and expect clean, safe water to come out. There will be more refined and efficient treatment plants, further regulations…and I will be retired!

BEN PENNELL

WAT E R O P E RAT I O N S

The Gold Coast is a global tourism hotspot and home to more than 550,000 people, so managing water operations here is no simple task. As part of the team overseeing the operations of the city’s network, Kent Weeden and Ben Pennell certainly have their work cut out for them. The pair was recently acknowledged for their efforts at the Water Industry Operator’s Association’s recent Queensland event: Mr Weeden was named Operator of the Year (Civil/All Rounder) and Mr Pennell was named Young Operator of the Year.

My day generally starts off with me on the phone organising crews with my colleagues and field staff. Similar to Kent, it revolves around making sure we have someone covering our priority one response areas, North and South.

I then allocate work to the crews through a software platform called Systems, Applications and Products (SAP) and analyse missing data and reports. I attend several meetings, in particular around safety and safety improvements within the organisation.

I also discuss problems with field staff directly related to SAP and iPad utilisation, and discuss with managers ways to improve effectiveness. I also help trial mobile platforms and functionality for corporate programs such as ‘Airwatch’ and ‘People Plus’.

We are currently working on SAP optimisation within the organisation.

This will hopefully improve data quality within the organisation so management can make better decisions based around what is happening in the field.

The Commonwealth Games in 2018 has created a big drive for preventative maintenance and condition

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WAT E R O P E RAT I O N S

assessments on water, sewerage and recycled water infrastructure. In order to achieve a positive outcome, our branch is collaborating with various industry professionals and other directorates within the City of Gold Coast to develop ways of capturing the data and making it end-user friendly.

An example of this would be during the Commonwealth Games and urban precinct developments in our major city hubs. While certain sites are being excavated, we are replacing old, redundant water services that would normally be repaired or replaced at a separate time. This has improved cost efficiencies across the organisation.

As Kent mentioned, the biggest challenge I have experienced was the journey we all took transferring from Gold Coast Water, to Allconnex, and then integrating back into Council again as a water directorate. The other big challenge I experienced was the integration of our work processes into the SAP works management system.

The

experts in

dewatering

In the past, a piece of paper with a street address was sufficient to get a job done. Now it is all now integrated together online, from our receipting and procurement function through to works management (such as repairs and acquiring correct materials for the job). Everything is so regulated and documented these days and it has been a challenge to lead the team in this direction.

We are currently assessing over 34,000 water hydrants on the water network, 8,000-10,000 sewer manholes, more than 200km of CCTV survey for gravity sewer mains, plus relining works. We are also performing a lot of industry leading condition assessments such as stress concentration tomography assessments, acoustic and internal inspections. The is all in preparation for the Commonwealth Games.

As a business we are utilising a lot more mobile platforms such as iPads and touchscreens, which is having a big

impact on how we operate. We’ve also seen improvements through improved tollage, such as hydraulic manhole crackers, condition assessment tools such as stress concentration tomography, acoustic and internal condition assessment technologies, and mobile spatial data surveying tools that integrate directly with GIS. The CLIQ key technology currently being used to provide contractors access to our active sites has also been a particularly beneficial innovation.

I hope the industry will continue to evolve, utilising technology a lot more effectively than in the past. The changing culture for safety will also continue to grow and improve with younger generations adopting a very safety conscious mentality. I also see the industry utilising integration technologies a lot more where many facets of the business will be updated in real time not the old paper trail way.

& pump hire

We are passionate about pumps, Vortex Hire was founded with the goal to provide dewatering & pump hire equipment maintained to the highest standard when you want it, where you want it.

www.vortexhire.com.au

18

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WAT E R O P E RAT I O N S

Keeping drinking water

DELIGHTFUL

by Michael Glasson, Supervisor Product Testing, Australian Water Quality Centre

Australia has some of the best tap drinking water in the world. Here, Michael Glasson explains the Standard that ensures our drinking water tastes great, looks great and meets a range of other requirements that set it apart from other countries.

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systems.

The following points provide a brief description of the Appendices that relate to the test methods associated with AS/NZS 4020: TASTE OF WATER EXTRACT Trained panellists taste water extracts to determine whether products leach compounds that impart a discernible taste.

APPEARANCE OF WATER EXTRACT Water extracts are analysed for an increase in colour and turbidity.

GROWTH OF AQUATIC MICROORGANISMS The test is performed by immersion exposure with products examined for the ability to support bacterial growth by monitoring dissolved oxygen levels in water extracts.

CYTOTOXIC ACTIVITY OF WATER EXTRACT Water extracts are tested for cytotoxicity using mammalian cell lines.

An adverse effect on the health of the cells is recorded as a cytotoxic effect.

MUTAGENIC ACTIVITY OF WATER EXTRACT The Ames test is a reverse mutation assay. The test is used to determine whether products release mutagenic compounds into water extracts. The water extracts are mixed with specific bacteria. Any change in the genetic nature of the bacteria is regarded as evidence of mutagenic activity.

EXTRACTION OF METALS Water extracts are examined for the release of Arsenic, Antimony, Barium, Cadmium, Chromium, Copper, Lead, Mercury, Molybdenum, Nickel, Selenium and Silver. The limits are in line with the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.

In the past 22 years, the Australian Water Quality Centre (a business unit of SA Water, a South Australian government enterprise), has tested over 4,000 products in accordance with the Standard. Listed in Table 1 are a few examples of products tested to the Standard and the respective materials used.

It should be noted that similar products that are manufactured using different processes may have different performance characteristics affecting the ability of the product to leach compounds into drinking water.

The challenge for manufacturers is to produce commercially viable products that will not leach harmful compounds into drinking water, or compounds that alter drinking water, making it aesthetically undesirable. Testing to AS/ NZS 4020 provides an important step in assuring the suitability of products for use with drinking water.

WAT E R O P E RAT I O N S

T

he Australian drinking water standard – AS/NZS 4020 Testing of products for use in contact with drinking water – was developed to assess the suitability of materials used in contact with drinking water. Water authorities strive to maintain drinking water of a high standard for customers and cannot afford to introduce products that may jeopardise water quality into their supplies. Consequently, there is a need to ensure products in contact with drinking water do not introduce substances that will cause a deterioration in quality. A wide range of products are tested to the Standard including valves, pipes, coatings and end-of-line fittings which includes taps.

The Standard requires that products do not affect the taste or appearance of water; do not support the growth of microorganisms; and do not release cytotoxic or mutagenic compounds or metals. The tests required are specific to the type of product submitted.

The products are assessed by exposure to test waters. The exposed surface areas to volume test requirements are detailed in the Standard. After the product has been exposed to test water, a sample of the test water extract is analysed in accordance with the specifications in each Appendix of the Standard.

Scaling factors or dilution factors may be applied, depending on the end use of the product. There may also be a requirement for hot water tests for products that are used at high temperatures including water-heating

For more information please contact the Australian Water Quality Centre on 1300 883 171.

TABLE 1. PRODUCTS AND MATERIALS TESTED TO AS/NZS 4020.

PRODUCT Pipes/Tubes O-rings Gaskets Water Connectors Filter Housings Sink Mixer Components Olives Flexible Hoses Hoses (dishwasher) Jumper Valves

MATERIALS Polybutylene, Polyethylene, Polypropylene, PEX, Copper, Stainless Steel, Cement EPDM, Nitrile, Natural Rubber, Silicone, NBR EPDM, Nitrile, Natural Rubber, Silicone, Polypropylene, HDPE, Brass Polycarbonate, Acetal Copolymer, Polypropylene Brass, EPDM, Nitrile, Natural Rubber, Acetal Acetal, Brass EPDM, Soft PEX Plastic PVC EPDM, Nitrile, Natural Rubber, Acetal

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WAT E R O P E RAT I O N S AERIAL VIEW OF THE BENDIGO WATER RECLAMATION PLANT.

25 YEARS OF INNOVATIVE WATER TREATMENT As the operators in the water industry gather in Bendigo for the WIOA conference and exhibition, the town’s water reclamation plant is celebrating a significant milestone: 25 years of continuous operation, utilising a unique and innovative technique for treating wastewater.

T

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he current Bendigo Water Reclamation Plant at Epsom began treating Bendigo’s wastewater 25 years ago, when a bigger and better plant was needed to meet the needs of the city’s growing population and new environmental regulations.

The plant was planned when the Bendigo Water Board was still in existence, the water authority in place before Coliban Water was established.

At the time a biological nutrient removal (BNR) process called Modified UCT had been developed by the University of Cape Town for the removal of phosphorus.

BNR involves using naturally occurring bacteria, often referred to as ‘bugs’, to consume the excess nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorus.

The bugs are then removed as sludge, which after further treatment can be reused as biosolids.

BNR is more cost effective and environmentally friendly than using chemicals to remove nutrients.

The project’s Chief Engineer was Neil Burns, who still works for Coliban Water as its Community Infrastructure Development Specialist.

Mr Burns said, “We could see the process was working successfully at plants where it had been retro-fitted but

we wanted to conduct our own tests.

“We worked with staff and students from the Bendigo College of Advanced Education (now La Trobe University) to set up a pilot plant, which produced good results.

“It was decided our new Epsom plant would have BNR treatment tanks which made it one of the first purposebuilt BNR plants in Australia,” said Mr Burns.

Construction work started in 1990 and the plant commenced operation in May 1991. It was officially opened on 26 July 1991 by the Labor Minister for Conservation and Environment, the Hon Steve Crabb MP.

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“When the plant commenced operation in May 1991, Bendigo’s population was around 62,000 and there were 25,000 connections to our sewer network.

“Bendigo’s population is now around 108,000 and there are almost 43,000 connections, as well as an increase in local industries and commercial customers,” said Mr Burns.

The new BNR plant was also capable of treating wastewater to a higher standard to bring it in line with new environmental regulations at the time.

“Some of the water treated at the Epsom plant can be discharged into Bendigo Creek under license from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

“The new plant met the new EPA regulations at the time, removing the harmful nutrients which could destroy flora and fauna and cause algal growths,” said Mr Burns.

The plant has had further developments in its 25 years to improve the treatment process.

In 2003, a tertiary plant was added to treat the water to Class B for irrigation for non-food crops, some livestock drinking and in road construction.

In 2007, during the Millennium Drought, the Recycled Water Factory was built along with a 14.5km pipeline from the plant to the Spring Gully Reservoir.

This enabled recycled water to be used for public gardens, sporting facilities and irrigation in the Bendigo area, and by some new residential developments for toilet flushing and watering gardens.

Coliban Water can also supply recycled water to its rural customers along its Ascot, Axe Creek and Cockatoo Hill channels, and supplies two standpipes in the Bendigo area.

A project is nearing completion at the plant to replace the original submersible mixers in the BNR treatment tanks.

Diving specialists were used to replace the mixers as the tanks are in constant use so taking the plant offline

to empty the tanks was not an option.

The new mixers are more reliable and energy efficient and will enable the plant to continue to treat on average around 19 million litres of wastewater per day.

As well as an increase in the amount of wastewater treated, there has been an increase in the rubbish that needs to be collected and taken to landfill.

Everything from false teeth to mobile phones have ended up at the end of the sewer network, and recently flushable wet wipes have been causing blockages, jamming pumps and increasing clean up costs and landfill.

When the Epsom plant was built 25 years ago the major issue was the biological removal of phosphorous from wastewater, with the principal source being soaps and detergents.

The industry responded with phosphate-free soaps and detergents.

Hopefully a long-term solution can be found to the flushable wipes issue.

ABBERFIELD INDUSTRIES water filling stations Anywhere, anytime, water should be available to the public and to commercial interests; water supply is an essential service.

However in many areas it is denied to all but tanker drivers who have been supplied with a metered standpipe. So the farmer wanting water for the house cow, or the recreation vehicle needing to fill up is left wanting.

The Abberfield Group now produce Water Dispensers, that can operate on Coins, Account Card, Stored

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Value Card (similar to toll road “E” tags) or on Credit Card; just one or any combination of these means of payment.

A typical machine can have outlets for both tanker filling and public use, any combination of outlet connections from 20mm to 100mm.

The typical outlets are 80mm cam lock with 25mm tap or 50mm cam lock and 25mm tap.

Tanker only customers delete the smaller tap and for some users it is 20mm or 25mm outlet only.

Decades of experience and a younger committed team bring this leading edge technology to the Australian market. Australian technology, from an Australian company, best practice, available now.

Abberfield’s Water Dispensers will be on display at the WIOA conference in Bendigo this September; see us there.

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FEATURES • Credit/debit card payments • Account card and coin payments also available • Two outlets ranging from 20mm 100mm, one for Caravans, one for Tankers

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WAT E R O P E RAT I O N S Utility Partner Solutions

26

Navigating

CHALLENGING WATERS One of Australia’s largest water utilities, Seqwater, recently contracted Zinfra to complete three separate contracts at their Capalaba Water Treatment Plant.

T

he water treatment plant at Capalaba, in the suburbs between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, required upgrade work to their ageing infrastructure to ensure the quality of their water for future generations, and the safe operation of their facility.

The main challenge for Zinfra was the brownfield nature of the plant. Normal construction techniques had to be changed and shutdown methodologies developed to ensure limited impact to the day to day operation of the plant.

Zinfra Project Manager Spencer Walmsley said, “It has been great to be part of a project that increases the efficiency of the treatment plant and the water quality for the local community.”

MANAGING THE CHALLENGES “Developing strategies to deliver our services, while limiting impact to operations, has been at times a difficult task, but it has made the project more rewarding,” said Mr Walmsley.

In order to reduce shutdown times from over a week to just three days, and ensure Seqwater could continue to meet customer demand, temporary isolations at the inlet and outlets to the raw water pumps allowed time to install, align and pre-commission the new pumps prior to introducing them to plant operation.

By isolating one of the two operating clarifiers and filters, a significant portion of the scope of works could be completed while the system was still operating, including the DN700 replacement interconnecting pipework to connect both clarifiers to a single filter. Taking the filter and clarifier offline also allowed for the removal of the filter’s media and refurbishment of the internal walls and equipment within the filter prior to re-installing the replacement filter media.

With one filter taken offline a method

was also developed to allow for the installation of the new filter outlet and below ground works, including removal and replacement of the filter building to house two new UV reactors (duty/ standby). By taking a staged approach to the work, only two single shutdowns were required to allow for pipework replacement at the downstream chemical dosing chamber.

While this work was undertaken, the operational filter could temporarily maintain the magflow and ultrasonic flow meters including pH, pressure differential and turbidity to ensure water quality and the accuracy of fluoride and chlorine dosing could be monitored by the operations team.

Due to the age and various upgrades over the years, the site has an assortment of equipment and pipework within it. One of the major challenges for Zinfra involved accessing and determining correct flange sizes, and verifying flange orientations and alignments, along with actual pipework sizes. Many variables were found when completing this important verification process which ensured that Zinfra was able to fabricate, order and change its equipment and methodologies to suit.

INTRODUCING INNOVATION Clients like Seqwater rely on service providers to bring specialised skills and knowledge to bear on their projects and operations. Zinfra has delivered a number of cost and time savings to the client through smart thinking and clever, collaborative problem solving.

During the tender process, Zinfra suggested reducing the depth of the new clear water storage tank scour line to connect two tanks together. The design depth of the line was on average 2.5-3 metres deep, but by reducing this depth Seqwater benefited in the form of cost savings from increased productivity, and Zinfra reduced their

exposure to high risk activities posed by trenches deeper than 1.5 metres.

Zinfra also identified the proposed design alignment required the removal of a number of significant eucalyptus trees, which would need relevant local government approvals. After investigation, Zinfra altered the design, reducing the overall length of the service from 140 metres to 115 metres and also aligned with an existing road, removing the need for tree removal.

The projects incorporated a number of chemical dosing system upgrades including alum dosing, polymer, sodium hydroxide and lime. The upgrades, to make the plant more efficient, moved the current dosing points to new locations or through the in-pipe static mixers, installed as part of the works.

Zinfra identified an opportunity to reduce the footprint of a new polymer dosing system that was to be installed in the old PAC dosing storage building, by providing a tank-on-tank batching system, coupled with the three off-dosing skids. This concept change provided Seqwater with a designated area for an emerging works project, either an acid flush system for lime or an upgrade to its service water system.

Off the back of these innovative solutions, Seqwater charged Zinfra with designing a new service water system, controlled by a pressure loop for the plant, to ensure that a 3.5-6.0 bar water pressure is maintained to service the increased demand of the polymer system, resolving some existing lime and chlorine batching and dosing issues.

Delivery of the three projects at Seqwater’s Capalaba Water Treatment Plant represented a significant opportunity for Zinfra to showcase their capability in the water treatment plant sector. Zinfra has shown they can problem solve and work nimbly to produce cost effective, safe outcomes for their clients.

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Automated Microbiology Detection System The TECTA™ B16 is fully automated and can provide E. coli and Total Coliform results in 2-18 hours, depending on the level of contamination. With integrated networking capabilities, the TECTA™ B16 will provide immediate notification and early warning of positive sample results as soon as they occur. Results are automatically sent to any device, including computers, tablets and smart phones, on detection of bacteria.

Find out more at thermofisher.com.au/tecta © 2016 Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of Thermo Fisher Scientific and its subsidiaries unless otherwise specified. TECTA™ is a trademark of TECTA-PDS. 1465537567

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hen the health of many is at stake, time is precious and you need answers fast.

Thermo Fisher’s fully automated, selfcontained TECTATM B16 Microbiology testing system comes to the rescue when a fast and accurate water testing solution is needed.

Common E. coli and total coliform testing services can have a turnaround time of up to three days.

The TECTATM B16 can incubate and interpret test results in just two to 18 hours, depending on the level of contamination. Interpretation of pre-incubated samples only takes 60 seconds. E. coli can be detected and treated before it spreads, causing public disease outbreaks.

Up to 16 simultaneous tests for E. coli, total coliform and fecal coliform can be conducted by a single TECTATM B16 Analyser, with an MPN count for level of contamination on positive results. Remote alarm upon detection of bacteria is available via immediate email or SMS notifications.

The TECTATM B16 methodology is based on a patented Polymer

Partition technology that measures fluorescent enzyme indicators of the target organism. It is not compromised by coloured water samples or high turbidity. Continuous, automatic test monitoring with automated reading/

Utility Partner Solutions

While most potable water is treated to disinfect and kill or inactivate Escherichia Coli (E. coli), it still needs to be regularly tested for bacterial contamination. Systems using surface water are required to take extra steps to protect against bacterial contamination because surface water sources are more vulnerable to such contamination.

WAT E R O P E RAT I O N S

HOW DO YOU FIND OUT IF THE WATER YOU DRINK IS SAFE FROM CONTAMINANTS?

reporting and early alerting eliminates delays and human error, protecting lives and environments, allowing key decision makers to provide timely warnings to the community.

This advanced water testing system can be used on-site, eliminating the costs and delays associated with transporting samples to external laboratories. The pre-prepared media cartridges provide significant time saving, greatly reducing laboratory costs. The test cartridges are pre-filled with all required media, eliminating the need for additional reagent preparation, sample handling, dilution or mixing. The TECTATM B16 automated detection system, coupled with email/SMS reporting, also eliminates the need for manual, out-of-hours results interpretation, reducing staff and operational costs – an important consideration for time-and-cost conscious utilities.

Thermo Fisher Scientific is the exclusive distributor of TECTATM B16 in Australia and New Zealand. For more information please call 1300 735 295.

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WAT S E CETR I O N O P E RAT I O N S Utility Partner Solutions

30

WORLD’S FIRST WASTEWATER PUMPING SYSTEM WITH INTEGRATED INTELLIGENCE Xylem, a leading global water technology company dedicated to solving the world’s most complex water issues, has developed another breakthrough technology, launching the world’s first wastewater pumping system with integrated intelligence at the recent IFAT 2016 trade show in Munich, Germany.

F

lygt Concertor, a smart, sustainable, interconnected solution, significantly advances the sustainability of the wastewater sector by offering unprecedented flexibility and reduced overall cost of ownership, while consuming considerably less energy and ensuring consistent, clog-free wastewater pumping. The system senses the operating conditions of its environment and automatically adapts to pumping conditions to deliver optimal pumping performance.

“Flygt Concertor is another example of Xylem’s commitment to developing innovative and integrated designs that can meet the current and future challenges of the industry,” said Tomas Brannemo, President of Xylem’s Transport business. “This revolutionary new solution represents a step-change in sustainable wastewater management solutions and is a real problem-solver, developed in collaboration with our customers. Our recent report Powering the Wastewater Renaissance shows that the adoption energy efficient wastewater management technologies can slash electricity-related greenhouse gas emissions by almost half.”

There is a growing need for technology that optimises the performance and management of pumping systems.

Ageing infrastructure, increased global urbanisation and rising energy costs make sustainable wastewater pumping systems an urgent priority. By 2050, 70 per cent of the global population will be living in cities – an urban wastewater challenge on a scale never experienced before. Frost & Sullivan’s report European Smart Pumps Market for the Water and Wastewater Industry notes that a sustained focus on energy efficiency and a reduction in the total cost of ownership

of pumps are likely to lead to increased demand for intelligent pumping solutions.

Flygt Concertor can help address these complex challenges in a sustainable manner.

Field tests conducted around the world have validated significant benefits that Flygt Concertor delivers including: • Energy savings of up to 70 per cent compared to a conventional pumping system by consistently operating at the lowest possible energy level • Reduced inventory of up to 80 per cent due to flexible performance – the system self-adjusts or can be adapted to suit different conditions, without changing the impeller or motor size. This versatility eliminates the need for pump station managers to keep large inventory stocks • A built-in sump and pipe cleaning function – a world first for a wastewater pumping system delivering clog-free pumping and clean wet wells, saving up to 80 per cent in vacuum cleaning costs • Compact design, reducing cabinet size by up to 50 per cent compared to conventional designs.

Xylem is committed to developing technologies that advance the sustainability of wastewater management systems. For example, Xylem’s recently launched Flygt 4320 mixer with integrated speed regulation optimises operators’ control over the mixer’s thrust, enabling consistent process results and reduced energy consumption. It is a high efficiency, low-speed, submersible wastewater mixer that can help reduce energy costs by as much as 50 per cent.

Flygt Concertor and the Flygt 4320 mixer share a rich heritage with other Flygt innovations. The brand is renowned as a market leader in the design of advanced water and wastewater solutions with a 100 year legacy of innovation in pumping, from developing the first submersible pump to designing the non-clogging N-impeller.

Flygt Concertor combines IE4 motor efficiency, N-hydraulics, integrated power electronics and intelligent controls that work in harmony with each other, resulting in optimal pumping performance at the lowest cost Flygt of Concertor ownership.will be available in Australia from early 2017.

For more information, visit flygt.com/one-ultimate-system.

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To find out more, visit us at www.flygt.com/one-ultimate-system

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WAT S E CETR I O N O P E RAT I O N S Utility Partner Solutions

32

Smarter solutions

FOR SMARTER WATER Over recent years, water utilities have become increasingly aware of the need to enhance the performance of their water networks. This means managing infrastructure in such a way that unplanned maintenance costs are minimised; pressure, flow and water quality are sustained; energy requirements are optimised; and revenue losses from system leaks are reduced.

S

o what is a smart water network and how can it help? In its simplest terms it is a network where the monitoring of water pressure, flow and quality takes place in real time.

The more frequent and widespread the monitoring, the smarter the network will be. For example, if information on the network is collected hourly instead of twice daily, operators are able to more rapidly respond to issues such as water and energy losses through leakage, or other unaccounted water use. Obviously, the more frequently the data is collected, the smarter the network, but this also needs to be balanced against the fact that data collection sensors require power to operate, which may require frequent battery replacement if other forms of energy (such as low cost narrowband technology) are not available.

As our cities and regional population centres continue to grow, increasing demand is being placed on water, energy and communication providers.

As a result, these utility providers need access to real-time decision making tools to maintain their networks and provide information for future planning.

Customer expectations have also changed. The policy of charging for water based on the value of the property, which had nothing to do with the cost of provision, was abandoned a long time ago for a structure where users pay a fixed fee for connection and a

variable fee for the water they consume.

Customers accept this concept but in return they expect nothing less than high service quality and performance at sustainable pricing levels.

Aquadvanced™ is an innovative solution developed by SUEZ to support water distribution operations.

Aquadvanced helps monitor and control the water supply networks by providing a dashboard and optimisation tools to support efficient decision making.

Bringing together multiple IT systems, Aquadvanced allows water operators to evolve from traditional to smart network management.

Aquadvanced addresses each component of the urban water cycle, including the resource, the treatment system, transportation and distribution. Aquadvanced includes a suite of dedicated modules based on a framework of functions known as the Aquadvanced Foundation, which is fully integrated with the Operation Information System. Modules include hydraulic monitoring, energy management, water quality data collection and resource management.

They can be specified for an explicit role within the drinking water cycle, or they can be used across the whole network.

Australian urban and regional water systems deliver about two billion cubic metres of potable water every year, of which about 10 to 12 per cent is lost.

This equates to over $400 million in

water production costs every year.

Operating in real time, Aquadvanced displays flow and pressure across a water network enabling operators to monitor performance. The system helps to identify any abnormal events, their locations and any customer complaints or operating actions. Energy is a major component of a water utility’s operating costs and with rising energy prices, a smart network provides the ability to model and optimise system efficiency by automating the control of pumps and valves.

A recent paper from the Better Infrastructure Initiative1 said that by lifting the quality of our existing infrastructure, there’s an opportunity to save money, deliver better services more quickly, and trigger valuable innovation.

In other words, there are significant improvements that can be made to our existing infrastructure – and smart water has a role to play.

For example, SUEZ is working in Barcelona, one of Europe’s smartest cities, where Aquadvanced operates across a network of 3.9 million people delivering 200 GL/year of water through a network of 4,600km of pipes. Through this partnership, the city has demonstrably reduced water losses and optimised its network operations.

Similar partnerships are in place in Versailles, France (20GL/year), in Macao, China (90GL/year) and in Casablanca, Morocco (190GL/year).

SUEZ is actively seeking opportunities to work with water providers to introduce this technology in Australia.

For more information, visit www.suez.com.au.

we can optimise the performance of your water networks

AQUADVANCED™ is an innovative and modular tool that monitors drinking water networks (flow, pressure, quality) to optimise performance and reduce non-revenue water.

WAT S E CETR I O N O P E RAT I O N S Utility Partner Solutions

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POWER YOUR NEEDS WITH RELIABLE TRANSFER SWITCHING EQUIPMENT Depending on the load requirements, the implementation of a reliable back up supply of electrical power can be critical to the electrical design of an installation.

T

he role of automatic transfer switch equipment (ATSE) is to provide a dependable power transfer between the main source and the emergency source to essential or critical loads.

When the main source fails, the transfer switch detects the event with certainty, starts the standby generator and transfers the load to the emergency generator when it is ready. When the main source comes back, again, the ATSE detects the event and transfers back to the mains (sometimes under conditional criteria), provides a cool down period to the diesel generator (DG) if any, then stops it. When the emergency source is a transformer, the DG start and stop sequences are not implemented.

The contribution of ATSE to the reliability of an installation is as important as the transformer, DG or protection devices. The choice of the architecture of ATSE and the selection of its components is, as a consequence, a major responsibility of the designer.

As with any design, a set of goals needs to be outlined. The design goals for an ATS, in order of importance, are: • To safely automatically transfer between incoming supplies • To ensure isolation of supplies from one another • To maintain electrical protection offered by switchgear in the installation • To be capable of safe and straightforward manual operation by operators in emergency/ shutdown situations • To provide end users with a cost effective solution with minimal maintenance.

The consequences of failure if the ATSE design does not meet these goals are: • Danger to operators

• Damage to installation • Damage to switchgear • Loss of supply to load.

In the Australian and New Zealand market the majority of ATSE historically installed utilised circuit breakers.

However, more recently there has been a push through the electrical industry towards load break based ATSE systems as they provide the best results when judged by the above criteria.

LOAD BREAK SWITCH BASED ATSE A load breaker switch ATSE architecture such as the Socomec ATyS is one functional unit that has all incoming and outgoing connection terminals, mechanical interlocking, electrical wiring, logic controller and switching mechanisms built into the switch. The switching mechanisms comprises of two interlocked load break switches mounted to a controller and logic unit.

It is designed specifically in accordance with AS/NZS 60947.6.1, which refers directly to transfer switch requirements, therefore ensuring the safe automatic transfer between incoming supplies.

Upstream circuit breakers are still required in a load break ATSE implementation to provide short circuit and overload cable protection.

Separating the transfer function and the protection function frees up the circuit breakers for maintenance in installations, without compromising the operation or installation of the ATS. Furthermore without the circuit breaker motor operator and interlocking requirement, the circuit breakers can be a basic, economical type that are easy to test and be replaced as needed.

It is worth noting that load break switch based ATS devices do not have any effect on the protection in terms

of protection selectivity/coordination, ATYS TRANSFER SWITCH SOLUTIONS FROM NHP ARE SUITABLE FOR APPLICATIONS FROM 40A TO 3200A.

avoiding issues of potentially complying with AS3000 protection grading requirements.

During an emergency or shut down situation, manual switching by operators is required. To facilitate this, a load breaker switch ATS has an easily accessible, front mounted selector switch for manual operation.

Simple handle for manual operation is important to provide a single point of operation.

Finally, a load break switch based ATS provides an end user cost effective solution, with reductions in installation labour for the switchboard builder and with minimal maintenance for the end user.

SOCOMEC ATS SOLUTIONS FROM NHP NHP offers a wide range of open transition load break based transfer switches from Socomec (ATyS) that guarantee both the continuity of the power supply and the safety of operators. All devices comply with IEC60947-3 and AS/NZS 60947.6.1. The complete ATyS range is user friendly, with a quick and easy installation process, catering for applications from 40 to 3200A. Its stable positions allow energy consumption to be minimised whilst ensuring maximum immunity to electrical network disturbances, making this a truly robust and reliable solution.

For more information on this range, please visit nhp.com.au/more/water.

Sustainable & efficient performance with market leading energy management solutions When it comes to the utility sector, NHP offers reliable and intelligent motor control, allowing application flexibility as well as higher productivity and safety. From air circuit breakers to earth leakage devices, NHP ensure the delivery of a safe, reliable power supply to on-site equipment and machinery.

Providing the optimal balance of knowledge and experience, a

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WAT S E CETR I O N O P E RAT I O N S

Sydney takes smart approach to

WATER METERING DATA

Utility Partner Solutions

Australia’s largest water utility Sydney Water has adopted a smart strategy for their meter data collection, blending automated and manual approaches to achieve the best commercial benefits.

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he complexity of serving a catchment of over 4.6 million people, consuming around 1.4 billion litres of drinking water every day, means deploying technology in commercially smart ways is critical to Australia’s largest water utility, Sydney Water.

When it comes to the collection of the lifeblood of any utility, metering data, their approach has been no different. After evaluating strategies and technologies for collecting and

processing metering data from their customers, Sydney Water decided on combining manual and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) approaches.

“We’ve done a lot of work on it, we understand exactly what the pros and cons are, and the case just isn’t there for an AMI roll out at this stage,” said Mirko Sramek, Customer Metering Manager of Sydney Water. “In the foreseeable future, in the next five or ten years, there is a very strong place

for manual meters and a very strong place for automatic meter reading (AMR).”

Sydney Water found that implementing a smart combination of AMR and AMI was the best solution to read multi-level buildings. They use AMR in buildings three levels or lower, and AMI in buildings over three stories.

“The technology is used where it is cost-effective,” said Mr Sramek.

Sydney Water have worked with meter data management experts,

to an inflexible billing system. Whole routes needed to be completed before customers could be billed. “Under the new solution our cash flow, or billing process, hasn’t been held up while we wait for the entire route to be read.”

This has helped Sydney Water to send bills faster, which has sped up the cash flow process, helping customers and the utility to stay up to date with payments.

“The speed, accuracy and the quality of meter reading is essential to a utilities organisation striving for customer satisfaction, as well as being cash-positive. SevenX allows the streamlining of the ‘meter-to-cash’ process,” said Mr Franks.

Clever SevenX features like being able to add notes in, ensures that customer messages and information updates are passed on to readers.

“It’s a big improvement to make sure that the reader got that message,” said Mr Dagger. “It makes for much better customer service and a lot less customer calls.”

Customer service has also benefitted from photo identification of meter faults. “The photo capability has reduced our need for check reads and improved the efficiency of our back end office processes, where previously if you had a reading, you didn’t know if it was a data entry error,” said Mr Dagger. “But with a photo you don’t need a check read and that exception can be processed there and then and then it’s done.” The customer can be notified and action taken immediately to remedy the problem.

Although added confidence, efficiency and functionality have been the outcomes of the SevenX rollout, the real success x-factor throughout this process has been the strong partnership between Sydney Water and DataCol. DataCol are available for any enhancements and upgrades and can turn these around in a timely manner – another advantage that the giant vendors often struggle with. There is an open exchange of ideas between the two organisations that then make up a

roadmap for ongoing enhancements.

“In essence this solution processes billions of dollars’ worth of billing data and nothing but the best technology will do, to ensure absolute accuracy with class-leading efficiency of operations. We understand this is a mission critical system for Sydney Water and we’re proud of the role we play in the delivery of this service,” concludes Mr Franks.

Sydney Water’s pragmatic approach to implementing new meter data collection technology has meant they can meet their commercial drivers, as well as ensure customer service is maintained at a high level. A truly smart approach.

WAT E R O P E RAT I O N S

DataCol Group, to implement this approach, implementing a solution based on DataCol’s SevenX meter data management product, which combines software that manages field force logistics and collects meter data from handheld units in the field via manual or automated reads. SevenX is used by water, energy and gas utilities across Australia, New Zealand and the African continent.

“Sydney Water is one of the largest utilities in Australasia and their needs are varied. There couldn’t possibly be a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution that would work for these requirements ‘out of the box’. The DataCol team delivered a solution that was flexible and customised specifically for Sydney Water’s business requirements”, said Bruce Franks, CEO of the DataCol Group. “The SevenX solution was originally developed in the electricity sector, and has been extended for use by gas and water utilities.”

Sydney Water has been able to improve and simplify their quarterly reading cycle by providing added functionality and visibility.

“It’s enabled us to pull in new technologies and there are some significant benefits in how the SevenX system allows us to read mixed routes with manual and AMR meters,” said Jason Dagger, Program Manager Metering at Sydney Water. “If we weren’t able to do that it would push the case for AMI a lot better. But by being able to cost effectively read AMR allows us to defer a large capital outlay that comes with implementing AMI.” Sydney Water meter readers now complete their rounds quicker using SevenX AMR. It enables them to read all meters in a building as one group, regardless of meter brand, rather than one by one, said Mr Sramek. “The ability to adapt the system to be able to read AMR, and particularly to be able to read two different AMR manufactured metres and be able to incorporate them with our manual reads has been a real bonus.”

Mr Sramek also pointed to cash flow previously being restricted due

METER READING HARDWARE GOING END OF LIFE? No need to worry. DataCol can help with a meter reading solution which can integrate with legacy interfaces.

Like to have a conversation?

Give us a call and see if we can help you out.

info@datacolgroup.com Australia Ph: 1800 190-183 NZ Ph:

0800 638-372

USA Ph:

1800 47-49-480

DATA COL

www.datacolgroup.com

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TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY

ADVOCATING FOR TRENCHLESS

by Laura Harvey, Managing Editor, Utility

When it comes to trenchless technologies, most utilities are aware of the core benefits these innovative options offer, but the subtle benefits can sometimes be forgotten. Here, we take a closer look at the triple bottom line benefits trenchless technologies can offer to utilities.

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renchless technologies arrived in the Australian utility market place in the 1980s, and their capabilities have steadily expanded since then. Today, utilities can draw on trenchless technologies for the installation of new assets, or the rehabilitation of their existing assets, and use options including horizontal directional drilling (HDD), microtunnelling, auger boring and pipe jacking for new installations; and slip lining, spiral wound lining and cured in place lining for rehabilitation.

Trenchless technologies are often admired for the innovative options that they provide utilities with, but the reality is, these impressive technologies don’t come without a cost premium - which has traditionally held back the wider uptake of trenchless technologies as the installation and rehabilitation methods of choice over open cut methods.

TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGIES OPERATE IN A SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED SITE FOOTPRINT.

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The argument from the trenchless industry is that organisations assessing tenders need to look beyond the bottom line – cost – and consider the triple bottom line of environmental, social and financial impacts.

In today’s climate of increasing awareness of environmental impacts, and the need for a sustainable approach to any construction projects, trenchless technologies have a lot to offer.

ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS The environmental impact of new construction projects in utilities has never been more important than it is today.

Increasingly, utilities are focused on their impacts on the environment, and the ways in which they can tread lighter.

Environmentally responsible construction can take on many different forms. In the utilities industries, a key focus for limiting the impact of new constructions focuses on limiting the damage and disruption caused to the surrounding environment, and local flora and fauna, during the construction phase. These are not the only ways that utilities can deliver new assets in an environmentally responsible manner; but they are areas in which trenchless technologies can play a significant role.

In Queensland, the Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) project and Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) projects both used the trenchless solution of HDD to meet the exacting environmental standards required for the projects to be executed in full. Both projects involved the construction of large diameter transmission pipelines from the Surat and Bowen basins to the coast of Queensland. HDD was then used to cross “The Narrows”, a small section between the mainland coast and Curtis Island, where the gas is processed and shipped to Asian markets.

The Narrows HDD crossing involved the installation of two 42-inch transmission pipelines, via HDD, within the environmental footprint usually required to install one pipeline.

Located near the most sensitive terrestrial and marine environment in Australia, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, HDD was deemed to be the least invasive method of pipeline construction in this environmentally significant area.

By utilising HDD, the project proponents were able to minimise the amount of terrestrial disruption caused throughout the project, which means less work at the end of the project to replace displaced earth. It also meant that the impact on the surrounding flora and fauna was minimised.

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TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY

CONSIDER THE COMMUNITY Utilities that are undertaking upgrades, repairs or installing new assets in congested, urban spaces are faced with the challenge of how to execute the works while minimising the impact on the surrounding community.

In many cases, carrying out open trench works – and the associated disruptions to road and foot traffic, and local businesses, among others – will simply not be tolerated.

Trenchless technologies such as HDD, microtunnelling, pipe relining, cured in place lining, pipe jacking and auger boring all operate within a significantly smaller site footprint than traditional open cut trench projects. Generally, there will be entry and exit points for these technologies, with the ground between these points able to remain undisturbed throughout the duration of works - with business able to continue as usual.

Further, because the sheer volume of ground disrupted is minimised, crews are often able to get in, get the job done and close the job site quicker than if full trenches are required – meaning that the already reduced disruption to surrounds will affect the community for a shorter amount of time.

IT’S NOT JUST THE BOTTOM LINE In challenging market conditions, cost is often the deciding factor when assessing tenders for construction projects.

However, focusing on the initial construction cost, rather than considering the overall lifetime operating cost, can be a

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short-sighted approach.

Take for example the installation of sewer mains. Utilities have the option of installing gravity mains, which slope downwards to propel sewage forward, or they can install sewers in which sewage is propelled by pumps.

It’s often cheaper to install a pump propelled sewer line via open trench methods - but such an installation will also come with the lifetime cost of maintaining the pumps that propel the sewage, not to mention the energy cost associated with running these pumps.

Installing a gravity sewer by methods such as microtunnelling may have a higher initial installation cost, but once up and running, the ongoing operation and maintenance costs are significantly lower. Utilities need to consider the overall lifetime costs of any new installation, to ensure they really are securing the best value for their money.

A SUSTAINABLE CHOICE Trenchless technologies offer utilities a range of options for the installation and rehabilitation of their assets which offer triple bottom line benefits – environmental, social and financial. In short, they can offer utilities a sustainable choice.

When weighed up against the other options in the market, trenchless solutions offer significant benefits. The lesson to utilities: look beyond the bottom line for your next construction or rehabilitation project, and consider the broader benefits these impressive technologies can offer.

Utility Partner Solutions

HOW MOBILE IS YOUR MICROTUNNELLING CONTRACTOR? The mobility of your microtunnelling contractor is an important factor to consider when choosing a suitable team for your project.

WHERE ACCURACY MATTERS

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good microtunnelling contractor is one that can arrive at the jobsite - no matter the location - and bring with them a sufficient number of personnel and the correct equipment to carry out works.

According to Edge Underground Managing Director Stuart Harrison, efficiency is key during microtunnelling installations.

“Project managers are keen to have trenchless crossings completed on schedule, as this allows them to focus on construction of the rest of the pipeline.

“If a contractor is used to working at different locations, they are more likely to have good systems in place to ensure that they arrive on time, are fully prepared with the right number of staff, as well as the correct equipment including spare parts and back-ups.

“At Edge Underground, we have between four and six mobile crews depending on demand. Over time, we have developed a system for transporting equipment and organising personnel that is efficient and seamless. As we have multiple crews, this also gives us the option to split up teams to bring in more personnel if required in times of increased workload,” said Mr Harrison.

HOW MOBILITY REFLECTS EXPERTISE Contractors that travel across Australia to work on multiple jobsites are more likely to have increased expertise and experience. According to Mr Harrison, a microtunnelling contractor with multiple teams working across the country will most likely have personnel that are experienced in handling a range of different ground conditions.

“Understanding prevailing ground conditions is paramount to achieving successful outcomes in microtunnelling.

“The more the contractor is experienced in tunnelling JAC KE D through a wide range of ground conditions, the less likely it is that unexpected complications will occur.

“Familiarity with equipment and how to best adapt cutter faces for different ground conditions is something that can only be gained from working on projects in a variety of locations.”

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To plan your next microtunnelling installation, please contact Stuart Harrison at Edge Underground on 1300 JACKED.

GUIDED BORING SPECIALISTS

ABOUT US Edge Underground is a precision microtunnelling contractor that operates in Australia and the USA. With a focus on innovative technology and expertise, Edge Underground designs and enhances the performance of trenchless equipment.

OUR SERVICES • Microtunnelling • Pipe Jacking • Thrust Boring • Laser Tunnel Boring

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0458 000 009

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TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY Utility Partner Solutions

Interflow signs strategic alliance

TO FORGE THE FUTURE OF THE TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY A significant 20-year agreement between Interflow Pty Limited and Sekisui Rib Loc Australia (SRLA) demonstrates how two of the industry’s most innovative companies are working to advance pipeline rehabilitation technologies in order to meet the changing needs of asset owners across Australasia.

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he strategic alliance will expand one of the industry’s greatest success stories, and will see Interflow working to pioneer solutions to meet the specific pipeline infrastructure needs of the water, sewer, local government, road, rail, mining, and energy industries.

This historic agreement builds on the proven success of the past 25 years that has seen Interflow and SRLA work closely to develop world-leading advancements with spiral wound liners, significantly extending the possibilities for cost-effective rehabilitation of pipeline networks.

Interflow’s Managing Director Geoff Weaver said, “Many of the projects that we have completed using technology delivered by SRLA have gained global recognition. This agreement highlights Interflow’s

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MR GEOFF WEAVER, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF INTERFLOW PTY LIMITED SIGNING THE 20 YEAR AGREEMENT WITH MR HAJIME KUBO OF SEKISUI.

commitment to continue developing solutions to meet the changing needs of our clients. It will result in greater cooperation, technology exchange and joint development of further innovations.”

Since 1991 Interflow has lined over 2,500km of deteriorated sewers, stormwater conduits and culverts throughout Australia and New Zealand with the SRLA range of spiral

wound liners. Based on Interflow’s championing of these products, spiral wound liners now account for well over half of the sewers relined in Australia and New Zealand.

This alliance will result in the continued development of innovative infrastructure renewal options for clients and further expand the potential of the trenchless technology industry.

CONDITION ASSESSMENT

WASTEWATER & STORMWATER

Solutions for the whole network.

POTABLE WATER

ROAD & RAIL CULVERTS

NETWORK MAINTENANCE

TRENCHLESS INSTALLATION

www.interflow.com.au

Offices across Australia & NZ

TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY Utility Partner Solutions

OVERCOMING SEWER CHALLENGES USING MICROTUNNELLING The majority of properties in Donvale, an outer eastern Melbourne suburb, are currently unsewered, but a project by Yarra Valley Water is using microtunnelling to construct a four kilometre branch sewer and connect residents to the system.

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FJ Constructions won the principal contract for the project and Pezzimenti Trenchless have been contracted to install the Donvale Branch Sewer, which forms the backbone of the Donvale Sewerage Project. The project aims to create a better sewerage system for the suburb, and enable leaking septic tanks to be decommissioned.

Pezzimenti Trenchless are using microtunnelling to install a total of 4,470m of Hobas Jacking pipes at depths between 8-10m, with 1,500m of pipes having already been installed.

Microtunnelling is being used to avoid major excavations that would disrupt the local community and add

costs to the project’s delivery.

The Donvale Sewerage Project also involves the installation of reticulation sewer pipes and property connections, which will connect to the branch sewer once completed.

Pezzimenti Director Joe Pezzimenti said the project has several challenging elements, including difficult ground conditions, that had to be taken into consideration.

“The sites have extremely hard siltstone – up to 40mpa – with Quartz pockets, and there are also challenges with groundwater and access to sensitive council land and private properties,” Mr Pezzimenti said.

“We have also had to drill under the Mullum Mullum Creek twice and we

plan to do a few more crossings there, so there has been a lot of things that we have successfully juggled to get the project moving forward.”

Work on the branch sewer began in December 2015 and is scheduled for completion by June 2017.

ABNORMAL GROUND CONDITIONS PROVED CHALLENGING FOR THE PROJECT.

The Next Generation in Trenchless Technology Still the market leaders in laser guided microtunnelling Bore diameters from 325mm up to 2800mm Specialists in “free bore”, sleeve boring and pipe jacking in all sizes Used for gravity sewers, water mains, storm water, gas and electrical conduits.

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Unit 2 / 85 Heatherdale Road, Ringwood Vic 3134 PO Box 2500, North Ringwood Vic 3134 P: (03) 9872 4596 | F: (03) 9872 3293 | E: info@pezztrenchless.com.au

TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY

TURNKEY SOLUTI HDD CONSTRUCT

Utility Partner Solutions

Equipped and underway:

To prepare for major water, civil, defence and telecommunication projects across South Australia, Fulton Hogan recently expanded their equipment holding and are now self-performing trenchless construction projects across the state.

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U

tility spoke with John Herbert, Program Manager SA at Fulton Hogan, to learn more about their new equipment, recent works and the company’s expanded capabilities.

A TURNKEY SOLUTION Fulton Hogan chose two Vermeer 20X22 Directional Drill packages, which included all associated units, mixing systems and tanks. According to Mr Herbert, as each package included all associated equipment to carry out construction, each drill could be used almost immediately.

“We chose to engage Vermeer due to their compact machinery and success on previous projects, and we were thrilled that each package was essentially a turnkey solution that could be used almost immediately.

“The equipment was clean from the get-go, safe and easy to operate, with ergonomic working areas that have been well thought out in design and manufacture.

“Vermeer took care of fitting-out each vacuum unit and drill truck, which made it easy for us to mobilise very quickly to our first drill site. Since then, this has been a great advantage on emergency projects requiring HDD at very little notice. It was impressive to find that every detail had been carefully considered by Vermeer, including all safety aspects. All we have to do is get to the site and start work,”

said Mr Herbert.

INCREASED VERSATILITY It is not often that you come across a drilling rig that can successfully tackle a diverse range of projects with a wide range of construction parameters, said Mr Herbert. “The rigs that we purchased were some of Vermeer’s smaller models, however they have enabled us to successfully complete grade bores of distances as long as 180m.

“One particular project required two drills of 180m, installing 250mm poly pipe. One of the pipelines was a gravity sewer main at a grade of 1-1.5 per cent.

“The second bore was a pumping main over the same distance but did not require grade.

“It was definitely a stretch for a 20,000 pound rig to tackle this length of shot with the product pipe size, however, the equipment performed so well that the sewer line’s pilot shot of the grade bore after 180m was perfect at all intersection points.

“Three reaming passes of eight, 12, and 16 inches were also made with Melfred Borzall turbo reamers, ensuring a very clean and stable hole. Mudex provided us with all of our drilling fluids, and were instrumental in assisting the process with the best drilling fluids for the job.

“Both pipelines were successfully installed by the new equipment from Vermeer well ahead of schedule.

“What has also been impressive is the fact that the same equipment has also been successfully used in our telecommunications work installing 50 and 100mm conduit. This highlights just how versatile the Vermeer drill packages have been,” said Mr Herbert.

SERVICE AND SUPPORT AFTER PURCHASE According to Mr Herbert, there has been no shortage of support from Vermeer throughout both the purchase and use of the new drilling equipment.

“Vermeer offered detailed consultation throughout the purchase of machinery, ensuring that we received exactly what we ordered.

“This support has been continued right into construction, with Vermeer offering equipment training to our crews even though the purchase has long since been made,” said Mr Herbert.

TAKING ASSET LOCATION SERIOUSLY Fulton Hogan carries out a range of asset location procedures before undertaking any drilling or excavation work, said Mr Herbert. The company is also in the process of developing a new data tool to help inform excavators and drillers of buried assets before they begin operations.

“Fulton Hogan has an excavation permit system requiring that all underground assets are located prior to

any drilling or excavation. This is done with standard location equipment, ground penetrating radar and potholing.

At the moment, Fulton Hogan are working closely with Vermeer to launch a new range of InSite productivity tools that have just been released in the US. “Vermeer InSite Productivity Tools help you make better decisions — in the office, in the field or on the machine. This set of tools collects, consolidates and conveys information to help stakeholders become more productive and aware of buried assets

TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY

ION ENHANCES TION

onsite, and Fulton Hogan want to be the first to launch this system in Australia,” said Mr Herbert.

FURTHER EXPANSION With a view of expanding their drilling capability over the next 12 months to take on bigger projects, Fulton Hogan will be purchasing larger HDD equipment in the future to enable the company to tackle larger diameter and longer HDD work.

“Vermeer’s equipment technology and systems are constantly evolving, so

we know that we are getting the latest and most effective systems each time.

“Because of this and our most recent successes with the drill packages, we are looking forward to being able to achieve even bigger projects across the state,” said Mr Herbert.

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TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY Utility Partner Solutions

THERE’S NO BETTER TIME FOR DRAIN REHABILITATION Aussie councils and utility managers have never before enjoyed such luxury of choice when it comes to trenchless sewer and stormwater repairs.

A DRAIN REHABILITATED WITH THE QUICKLOCK SYSTEM.

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oday, the choices include ultra violet cured liners, now readily accessible, along with extruded onsite UPVC. Blow-in inverted liners and wind-in products have also become popular, and for good reason. Each option provides unique benefits for various applications, and they’re invaluable to the managers who maintain our seldom seen, but essential drainage assets.

Additional choices include permanent point repair technologies, from inflatable fibreglass patches to internal mechanical pipe seals, such as Quicklocks, which were recently used in the township of Woori Yallock on Melbourne’s eastern fringe.

The journey to using Quicklocks

all started with a routine CCTV fact finding mission. This flowed on to become a diverse product trial for a small drainage rehabilitation project under the scrutiny of the Yarra Ranges Shire Council’s drainage officer Gary Whitehead.

Mr Whitehead is a well known drainage industry veteran, with over 45 years experience in council and water board infrastructure. He is a pioneering drainage expert and adamant to leave a quality managed, sustainable and reliable drainage system as his legacy – but with a staggering 2,500 square kilometre work site, incorporating 55 suburbs and townships, this is no easy task.

Following a decade of drainage maintenance issues, and on the back of diligent CCTV analysis, a sharp forward thinking rehabilitation project was devised to trial and evaluate the latest trenchless techniques. This process was carried out in conjunction with Brendan Tucker, recently appointed Operations Manager at M.Tucker & Sons, who specialise in trenchless drain rehabilitation and are active in the Australian Society of Trenchless Technologies.

The use of Quicklock seals, along with fibreglass patches to permanently repair many easement and under road assets not viable to reline, provided the council with a successful rehabilitation method. The program also provided council with considerable cost savings when compared with traditional

excavation methods, which opened up capital for other urgent projects.

Further significant cost savings were realised by negating the usual unsightly repairs to road surfaces, and the major disruption to residents that generally comes with open cut rehabilitation.

In addition, for the first time, the council also made the decision to trial liner end-seals to all the liners installed on the project. The new liners were cut back by an additional 140mm from the pit face, and Quicklock liner end-seals were installed. This represents a real change of thinking from using an applied sealant or grout, to using a solid stainless steel mechanical seal relying on a proven EPDM rubber seal. The finish was professional and will not wear out or leak due to a loss in adhesion. The Quicklock liner end-seal protects the expensive liner at its most vulnerable point and is not affected by high pressure water jetting.

CCTV FOOTAGE FROM INSIDE A REHABILITATED DRAIN.

For more information, contact an approved installer or Quicklock Australia on 0438 099 212, or email mail@quicklockaustralia.com.

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STORMWATER

MORE THAN JUST MANAGING RUNOFF Around Australia, stormwater professionals are tasked with capturing rainfall and making effective use of water that isn’t absorbed into the ground. Here, we take a look at some of the unique projects that are doing more than just managing runoff – they’re developing innovative uses for stormwater and saving millions of litres of potable water in the process.

GREENER PASTURES In Victoria, Moonee Valley Council, together with Yarra Valley Water, worked on a project to capture stormwater and use it for irrigation to support local sport and recreation facilities. The $1 million project will save up to 20 million litres of drinking water every year.

The project sees stormwater from local streets collected, treated and then used to irrigate Maribyrnong Park, Aberfeldie Park and Clifton Park.

The project saw the construction of 2.7km of pipelines from the Afton Street Conservation Wetlands, which capture stormwater from houses and streets across a 200 hectare area. The wetlands divert stormwater and runoff from Smileys Creek, subjecting it to natural

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treatment processes to remove litter and waste.

Once water has been treated, it is stored in the wetlands until being pumped through the new pipelines to existing irrigation systems already in place at each of the recreation facilities.

State Member for Niddrie Ben Carroll said “Initiatives like this project make the most of our water resources and provide the community with a secure source of water that will enable us to maintain the facilities here in Aberfeldie to first class standard.

“One lesson we learned from the drought was the impact that the loss of useable sporting and recreation facilities had on communities. That’s the driver behind this project - securing

water for irrigation, irrespective of prevailing weather conditions or water restrictions,” Mr Carroll said.

IDEAL IRRIGATION In Western Australia, stormwater is also being used to provide irrigation supply in Forrestfield.

The first stage of the project involves the harvesting and filtering of 46,000 kilolitres of stormwater from a Water Corporation drain before injecting the water into the superficial aquifer below Hartfield Park.

WA Premier Colin Barnett said “This is an important project demonstrating the innovation we are adopting to develop local water sources to meet community needs in a drying climate.

SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT In New South Wales, WaterNSW has completed a stormwater project which was recognised at the International Water Sensitive Urban Design Conference, taking out the award for Excellence in Policy or Education in the management of

stormwater.

WaterNSW won the award for the ‘Evaluation of Council’s Stormwater Management Practices’ project, which was a joint partnership with eight local councils and Molino Stewart to continuously improve the management of stormwater practices.

The project covers the declared catchment (formerly the Sydney drinking water catchment), an area of approximately 16,000 square kilometres, that extends from north of Lithgow to the source of the Shoalhaven River near Cooma in the south; from Woronora in the east to the source of the Wollondilly River near Crookwell in the west.

WaterNSW Chief Executive Officer David Harris said, “The sustainable management of stormwater is an important issue for WaterNSW because if not managed effectively, it can impact on water quality in local waterways.

“To most effectively protect water quality in the declared catchment we have adopted a multi-barrier approach and work continually to develop and deliver

programs to help reduce risks to water quality.”

The Priority Pollutants Program is a leading initiative, where WaterNSW works with councils in the catchment to target reductions in water quality risks posed by stormwater runoff.

Mr Harris said from the outset, the success of the project was due to the positive collaboration between WaterNSW and the councils of Blue Mountains, Goulburn Mulwaree, Lithgow, Palerang, Shoalhaven, Upper Lachlan, Wingecarribee and Wollondilly.

“Our approach has been to identify gaps and work with councils to implement best management practices by providing training and raising awareness within councils and the broader community.

“Through robust evaluation we have achieved our aim to accelerate the uptake of best practice stormwater management, including the implementation of integrated water cycle management and water sensitive urban design.”

STORMWATER

“The Shire of Kalamunda has secured all the required regulatory approvals and built the infrastructure necessary to proceed with a trial stormwater managed aquifer recharge project, and this first stage will be used to monitor the response of the aquifer and water quality."

It is proposed the project will eventually add between 115,000-230,000kL/yr to the local aquifer to support watering of new and upgraded playing fields, as well as other locations.

The Department of Water provided the regulatory framework for the project, including licences to support the project through the Guideline for the approval of non-drinking water systems in Western Australia and Operational Policy 1.01 – Managed Aquifer Recharge in WA.

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STORMWATER Utility Partner Solutions

Smart STORMWATER SOLUTIONS Engineers create innovative solution for compact living and avoid disruptive excavations, by installing stormwater detention tanks in concrete slabs under homes.

S

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unland’s Carre Residences in Springvale is a boutique medium density townhouse development with 239 lots surrounding a central community park.

While the number of houses is extensive, there is a limited road reserve where all required facilities needed to be located. This meant Engineers at Taylors had to find a way to fit in all the stormwater infrastructure and pipes for the development, while meeting set requirements from different authorities.

Taylors Engineering and Project Management Operations Manager, John Yalden, said the Engineering team created a solution by locating the stormwater tanks in the slab beneath the houses to provide more room in the road reserve.

“Installing the stormwater storage within the slabs avoided having ugly water tanks in view and it provided residents with more room in their backyards,” Mr Yalden said.

“The use of in-slab storage also meant the developers didn’t have

to construct large stormwater infrastructure and pipes beneath the road pavement, which left more room for other infrastructure.

“It also minimised the road reserve which increased the number of lots that could fit on the land.”

Mr Yalden said the stormwater detention facilities that were installed within the slabs are used for the detention and re-use of excess water runoff.

“These storage tanks are necessary for a project like this because when

STORMWATER

constructing on the land, there are increases in surface runoff, which can exceed the capacity of downstream infrastructure,” Mr Yalden said.

“Taylors also designed a stormwater quality treatment system that was constructed beneath the roads, to allow the project to achieve stormwater quality requirements without having to build a dedicated treatment facility.”

The other major challenge for this development was the construction of a 225mm diameter sewer outfall across the adjoining Westall Road intersection, one of Springvale’s major roads.

Taylors Engineering Project Delivery Manager, Andrew Nguyen, said, “Westall Road is an extremely busy road so we used trenchless technology to construct the sewer as it needed to be done without open excavation.

“We used laser boring technology and constructed a deep bore shaft

into the road at points where traffic considerations could be managed.

“Using this technology proved to be more sustainable because there was no need for all the construction machinery that an open trench would require.

“The sewer is now designed to last for more than 100 years.”

The Carre Residences development is being constructed in seven stages over a three year period. Taylors has facilitated the completion of the civil works and Sunland has begun building the development’s final houses.

“In our design we had to make sure everything integrated well with Sunland’s building designs and that there was a smooth transition between our civil work and the dwelling construction.

“Sunland was appreciative of our stormwater solution and road design for the development and construction is well underway.”

Relationships | Expertise | Solutions www.taylorsds.com.au

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OPINION

Agile organisations:

WHAT CAN UTILITIES LEARN FROM DEFENCE FORCES?

by Cassandra Hogan, National Sector Leader Power & Utilities, KPMG and Mark Johnston, Associate Director Power & Utilities, KPMG

Reflecting on the energy network utility, and particularly the opposing challenges of maintaining an infrastructure rich environment while adapting to a changing technology landscape, it can be useful to draw from the experience of other sectors.

For utilities, there are useful parallels with the defence sector, particularly when it comes to asset management and agility.

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OPINION

I

n considering the utility of the future, other frames of reference can provide useful lessons to better understand and communicate the challenges and strategies for navigating the new utility paradigm.

While it is easy to understand the need for defence to be agile to keep pace with the highly competitive and sometimes deadly landscape, until recently the drivers in the utility sector have been very different. In each of the states of the national electricity market, the gradual infrastructure build over the last 100 years to support growing state economies required a focus on the fundamentals of supplying the market – reliability and security. This mantra, and its translation into infrastructure, shaped the culture of a sector heavily dominated by engineers.

It is worth considering that defence, too, is heavily reliant on assets and

infrastructure. The 2016 Defence White Paper, for example, signalled arguably the most significant capital investment program in defence in more than a generation: buying new submarines, surface ships, fighter jets, armoured vehicles and information technology. A challenge for defence is to manage this infrastructure renewal process while also adapting to an increasingly changing, technology rich landscape. These investments need to be undertaken in a way that offers maximum flexibility in adapting to new competitive environments.

The electricity sector is also undergoing significant disruption from a changing landscape. These changes include increased access to alternative energy supplies, where customers with solar panels represent an estimated fourteen per cent of all Australian households in 2014; the adoption

of energy storage; the introduction of metering contestability for small customers from 1 December 2017; the entry of some electricity distributors into the energy services market; and changing residential customer expectations arising from digital and personalised buying experiences in other industries.

ESTABLISHING A FRAME OF REFERENCE In looking to another sector for lessons, in this case defence, it is first necessary to establish the frame of reference – where are the similarities, and what techniques or methods have been applied to overcome similar issues. Defence and utilities are similar in the following areas: Assets and infrastructure. Both sectors invest large sums in procuring equipment, developing infrastructure

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OPINION

and sustaining assets throughout their lifecycle.

Technology. Technology developments, new processes and competitive forces are causing disruption to both sectors. Careful thought is required towards investments in assets to minimise the expense of stranding assets.

Competition. Changes in the competitive landscape are causing decision makers to re-think investments, to understand where they should be positioned relative to their competition and where new opportunities may lie through a more agile approach.

Customers. Utility customers include large and small consumers, those who represent consumers, i.e. the retailers, and the generation sector whose product utilities transport to the consumer. In defence, the customer, quite simply, is the war

fighter using the assets and processes developed to prosecute orders distilled from government direction. The parallel between the sectors is that a focus on the needs and wants of customer(s) is essential to keep and maintain a competitive edge within the environment. In both environments, finding ways to cost-effectively meet and exceed customer’s expectations is essential in retaining their confidence.

For utilities, shifting customer expectations have already created new opportunities for electricity networks to enter the competitive energy services market. This opportunity moves beyond the network to building residential customer brand loyalty through multiple potential touch points with the customer. For example, outage restoration and vegetation management has the potential to be leveraged into a customer engagement opportunity, giving an advantage over

other market participants. In this regard, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) will issue in November 2016 ring-fencing guidelines to separate the competitive and regulated parts of network businesses in order to support the development of competitive markets for energy services.

By 2020, the internet of things, combined with rapid technological advancement integrating the smart home with home generation in home energy management systems, will have a significant impact on changing customer expectations. Expectations will only continue to mature. These opportunities have been noticed by non-utility industry companies, who have started to enter the market from multiple angles, creating the next race to own the energy services customer relationship, and through that to control who has access in the future to multiple profit opportunities beyond

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KEYS TO SUCCESS For electricity networks, the key to being successful in this changing and disruptive environment is to ensure agility concepts and agile processes are built into business strategy, business model, operating model, organisational culture, supply chain and transformation initiatives. In understanding the application of agility in utilities, looking at the defence frame of reference offers some insights as follows: Market awareness. Defence is relentless in understanding developments that impact on the success of their mission. Information requirements are defined and information sources queried to develop a continuously evolving understanding

over several time horizons. For utilities, a high level of market awareness has never been more important. Developing a mindset to be inquisitive, challenge perceptions and paradigms and then to actively understand the environment will set successful utilities apart from others. You cannot compete in a market you know nothing about, or presume to understand, so do the homework with an open mind. A change in the market can originate from government or regulatory changes, new technology or processes, competitor behaviour or customer demands. Staying attuned to all of these, and being in a position to shape the outcome, will put the proactive utility in the best position to succeed.

Decision cycle time. Through flatter and more flexible operating models and well-rehearsed decision making processes, the agile utility will be able to respond to changes in the market

faster, and with greater precision, than competitors. Defence, too, trains relentlessly to test decision making processes, reduce decision cycle times and ensure impacted stakeholders understand their responsibilities and actions under defined conditions.

Defence, like utilities, understand the lead time to implement decisions and plan accordingly. A challenge for utilities is to apply this framework to non-traditional areas.

Feedback loops. Decision makers in defence cannot prosecute a mission if they don’t know what is happening at the front line. Defence works hard to ensure a flow of information is maintained at all costs with the customer, i.e. the army units, aircraft and naval assets in the field. For utilities, a new challenge is to develop a customer and stakeholder sentiment and engagement system, be that a net promoter score, complaints handling

OPINION

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OPINION

and/or other systems to understand what customers are saying and feeling about the service they are receiving.

Customers, like soldiers on the ground, can be an invaluable source of information on competitor products, or even what other sectors are doing that may apply to the utilities strategy.

Innovation and technology. History is riddled with military failures of a superior force to an inferior opponent.

The story of David and Goliath is illustrative of the superior use of technology by an apparently inferior combatant. Investing and using technology in innovative ways are key points of differentiation for successful utilities.

Leadership, culture and reward.

Competent leadership is a prized asset within defence as it is widely known that good leaders are able to get the best out of his or her people. Recognising success, or even

recognising failure, can be an important way of motivating people and shaping culture. Recognition in defence is usually not in a financial sense; think medals and commendations. Defence prides itself on an innovative culture; making do with what is available at the time to solve a problem. Developing a culture of innovative thinking is critical so that all levels in the organisation are aware that their ideas contribute to the utilities strategy and are valued.

Delegating responsibility for decision making as far down or as far forward is also a key to success in the agile utility, as it is in defence.

ADAPTING TO CHANGE Like defence, to take advantage of changes in the market environment, a transformational program is often required. The sorts of actions that management can take to become better prepared and more successful in

such an uncertain environment include: Breakdown the business into its most basic functions and markets.

Understand the key element of the business. Defence does this in a range of ways, from separation of the services into army, navy and air force, through to a structured framework for allocating roles in a headquarters to ensure smooth operations. For the utility, understanding the various elements of the business, their roles, inputs, outputs and processes help to better understand the potential impact of external forces.

Assess transformational forces.

Understand how they impact strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats associated with each function and the overall enterprise, especially as it relates to the key elements of your core business. Defence has structured planning processes that ensure all factors are considered and decision

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developments.

Refresh your strategy. Learn from observation and adapt those lessons into new thinking. Defence maintains a strategy group at the highest level and regularly refreshes its thinking to suit the changing environment. For new and existing capability, defence also designs target business and operating models for each of the key functions and capabilities. As potential new capabilities are added to the utility, these need to be well understood and designed before implementation including how they will interact with other business functions.

Develop and prioritise a roadmap for transformation. Utilities need improvement initiatives that drive the enterprise and key functions toward optimal target operating models. This may be akin to the Defence White Paper that takes a high level view

across the defence portfolio.

Furthermore, there are a range of sub-initiatives generally working towards improved capability. For the utility, a defined transformation roadmap that delivers the strategy, but that is also agile in its implementation approach, offers a structured approach to delivering the business change.

OPINION

(contingency) triggers are known well in advance. This promotes understanding and communication. For the agile utility, broad understanding of the business, and wider market environment, assist in the transformational planning process. Using a consistent approach to planning and communicating at all levels will improve planning quality and the communication of the outcome.

Leverage scenario analysis. Use it to stress test business strategies for each of the functions and the overall enterprise. Defence employs tools like simulation, mentoring and war gaming that brings together all functions and considers the input of each and the impact of their decisions on others. In a changing environment for utilities, using similar tools and approaches to Defence will ensure that plans are challenged for their resilience as well as their adaptability to future

Cassandra Hogan is the National Sector Leader for Power & Utilities at KPMG, and a Partner in the Management Consulting Practice. Mark Johnston is an Associate Director in KPMG’s Power & Utilities Practice.

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ASSET MANAGEMENT

LIDAR LIGHTS THE WAY FOR A SAFER POWER NETWORK State-of-the-art aerial surveys and high definition photography of Essential Energy’s electricity network have improved the quality of data collected as part of the company’s asset inspection program.

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he LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) technology uses aircraft-mounted laser imaging to record the distance between powerlines and vegetation, the ground and structures – in conjunction with high-definition photography – to provide a detailed examination of the condition of pole top hardware.

The LiDAR survey provides a three dimensional view of the surveyed area, easily identifying network assets, vegetation, houses and roads. This information can be used to pinpoint vegetation encroachments and powerline clearances at the time of the survey.

High definition photography of pole top structures is incorporated within the LiDAR patrol. These photographs provide high resolution images of pole top hardware and are used to identify pole top defects which can be more difficult to identify from the ground.

The LiDAR and high definition photography surveying complements the traditional ground-based network asset patrols. LiDAR captures comparatively minute details with precision accuracy – providing a detailed, three dimensional view of

Essential Energy’s assets.

LiDAR aerial patrols have greater scope to traverse a range of terrain where ground-based patrols may face challenges. The resulting three dimensional model of the network that LiDAR patrols provides can be analysed in computer aided design (CAD) software, enabling network designers to use a higher granularity of survey points compared to traditional surveying methods. Similarly, the three dimensional model can be overlaid in internal geographic information system (GIS) software to provide employees with a visual representation of the network from the desktop. This assists in identifying and planning work for field crews.

The sheer volume of data provided

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for the business. For example, three high definition photographs are provided for each of the business’ 1.4 million power poles, at approximately 30 megabytes each. The three dimensional data captured is so detailed it is delivered using digital hard drives.

The level of network asset detail provided by LiDAR patrols could be used for many industries, including forestry, engineering and security. The electricity industry uses it to accurately identify powerlines, cross arms and power poles to an engineering standard.

Essential Energy Senior Engineer, Bradley Thomas, said the data captured

by LiDAR, partnered with other software applications, provided the ability to model the exact nature of the network down to the position of powerlines in relation to the nearest tree.

“We soon realised this level of detail could be used in other parts of our business as well. For example, network designers can use the 3D modelling and surrounding landscape details to improve

their understanding of the network in relation to a specific area,” Mr Thomas said.

“This means that many network issues can now be scoped from the desk, rather than requiring site visits.”

Datasets from the Office of Environment and Heritage provide terrain modelling, overlaying the map and location of the network to the use of the land underneath.

“This allows the business to prioritise public safety issues and helps us better manage risk and rectification,” Mr Thomas said.

“LiDAR even enables us to overlay our data so supervisors can see the location of planned work, right down to the vegetation and any incline on the land.

This enables them to dispatch the correct plant and crews for the job.”

Acting General Manager Asset Management, Paul Brazier, said Essential Energy had used LiDAR since 2014 to survey its sub-transmission powerlines as part of its asset inspection programs

aimed at mitigating bushfire risk across its network.

The organisation is conducting a five-year program which includes the rural distribution and sub-transmission network. Essential Energy currently captures aerial surveys over a three month period to gather network asset information in the lead up to the bushfire season. Due to the tightly controlled survey timeframe, delays are rare.

“As new processes and technology become available, the uses of this information throughout the business will be leveraged in many different ways into the future,” Mr Brazier said.

Essential Energy currently plans on using the updated three dimensional data captured by LiDAR to provide a detailed and accurate update to its GIS. This information is then used across the business to plan field work, enable design planning and mitigate safety risks.

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WORKING TOGETHER TO BENEFIT SMALL WATER UTILITIES Queensland water utility Unitywater has teamed up with a global software supplier to provide the state’s smaller water utilities with access to greater insights into network events, such as leaks, bursts, supply interruptions and changes in water pressure.

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nitywater and TaKaDu, a provider of integrated event management solutions for the water industry, have collaborated to enable TaKaDu to offer its IoT cloudbased solution to other water utilities across Queensland.

Unitywater and TaKaDu have been working together since June 2013 when Unitywater started a long-term engagement with TaKaDu to improve overall network visibility and efficiency, reducing costs and losses.

Unitywater adopted TaKaDu’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) on a trial basis, and then extended the contract for three years once the product was proven to us as a result of the trial. The solution provides Unitywater with realtime knowledge and alerts to network abnormalities such as leaks, bursts and pressure problems.

TaKaDu’s software uses Unitywater’s existing meter and sensor readings, advanced statistical algorithms and web applications to detect unusual trends or anomalies. The software has artificial intelligence that learns how the system operates over time, and takes into account weather patterns, diurnal flow, and can even provide information on the effects on consumption from peak periods and can distinguish Christmas Day and when a State of Origin game is playing.

A monitoring report is provided in

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real time, which allows Unitywater to proactively track events and respond to changes as quickly as possible in Unitywater’s vast water supply network, which is comprised of 5,731 km of water main pipes, 114 water reservoirs and 79 water pump stations.

The software is providing better insights into how the reticulation network is actually operating in smaller areas, which means Unitywater has been able to address existing issues around pressure and flow management, improving management of assets and network. Having the TaKaDu software has increased access to information across several business areas at Unitywater, enabling decision makers to be more informed about the network, challenges, events and improvement opportunities.

Some other benefits include: reduced costs (e.g. managing leaks and chemical dosing); increased reporting abilities to staff, management and the Board; increased energy efficiency; improved asset planning and reduced response times.

PARTNERING FOR SMALLER BUSINESS The new offering combines Unitywater’s TaKaDu knowledge and experience with a proven solution that has been adopted by leading water utilities in Australia and across the

globe. This offer will provide network monitoring, leak detection and network prediction services to small water utilities (those with less than 2,000 km of pipeline).

These smaller utilities will be able to leverage the benefits of Unitywater’s size and familiarity with TaKaDu by adding their service area to Unitywater’s TaKaDu system. The offer promotes collaboration across Queensland water utilities, a key objective of the Queensland Water Directorate (QWD).

The new arrangement came about from a discussion between the CEOs of Unitywater and TaKaDu about the QWD’s objective to have larger water entities assist the smaller water utilities with technology and solutions to common issues and challenges. It was decided that the TaKaDu system could be of great benefit to utilities with less than 2,000km of network, and that a larger entity, such as Unitywater, could provide support with additional data to allow the system to operate effectively for these utilities. The offer creates economies of scale by leveraging the investment Unitywater has made into the system and enabling other utilities to leverage that investment to benefit their customers.

Amir Peleg, the CEO and founder of TaKaDu, announced the arrangement between Unitywater and TaKaDu

will provide training to all new users as the software owner, and will be able to utilise prior knowledge provided from Unitywater’s experience to assist the utilities in identifying actions to take when anomalies and events occur.

There will also be an opportunity for Unitywater in the quarterly user group forums to assist other Queensland utilities as they develop their smart water networks.

The offer of the TaKaDu system and Unitywater data enables water utilities to realise the benefits sooner, with a cheaper entry point and ability to establish a fully operational system in a quicker timeframe than normal.

Unitywater CEO George Theo said TaKaDu had changed for the better the way Unitywater managed its water network.

“Since deploying TaKaDu in our network, we have achieved $16 million in savings from hidden (underground) leaks and prevented 6.5 billion litres of water loss based on an annualised calculation,” Mr Theo said.

“There has also been a 60 per cent improvement in reactive response times to leak, break and pressure faults in the reticulation network. The software has learned how our system operates and has helped us avoid major water outages, identify the cause of dirty water complaints, identify pump faults that cause bursts before they happen and track the status of events from start to finish.

“It is exciting to think that other water utilities can now experience similar benefits as part of this new offer which, previously, would have been out of reach.”

TaKaDu CEO Amir Peleg said “We’re proud of our collaboration with Unitywater, an early adopter of TaKaDu and a recognised industry leader in innovation and technology. Our offering gives other utilities a unique opportunity to maximise the value of their data and improve their network performance, leveraging Unitywater’s deep knowledge of our system.”

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to offer this service at the recent OZWater Conference. Five Queensland utilities have since viewed the system, and TaKaDu is currently discussing with some of them how the set-up and system can operate in their work environments. Feedback from the small water utilities has been excellent. All the utilities understand the benefits to them in how water loss can be better managed in real time; and most of their questions are concerning how the SaaS physically operates via the cloud.

The benefit to Unitywater from this relationship is that when there are more utilities’ network data in the system, the algorithm in the TaKaDu system becomes even smarter, and everyone shares better intelligence on how their networks are performing.

TaKaDu has set up a quarterly user group forum for all users, which will create closer working groups between the Queensland utilities, and form stronger ties and knowledge sharing throughout the utilities.

Once they come on board, TaKaDu

ASSET MANAGEMENT

REVOLUTIONISING THE UTILITY INSPECTION FIELD The impact unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is having on utility asset inspection and management has been considerable in recent years, and their impact will continue to grow considerably, says Mark Limbruner, President of the Geospatial Information and Technology Association North America (GITA NA).

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r Limbruner was recently in Australia for Locate16, the national conference of the spatial and surveying industries of Australia and New Zealand. We caught up with Mr Limbruner to discuss the role UAVs have to play with utilities, and the evolution of the international GIS industry.

What are the biggest developments in GIS internationally?

At this point I truly feel that UAV technology is creating the most change within the utility and infrastructure sectors. Low cost UAVs are revolutionising the utility inspection field, as well as providing low cost site location and right of way reconnaissance.

How will UAVs impact the way utilities operate?

Use of UAVs will significantly reduce the man hours on various projects, especially the siting of new facilities and projects. Many more hectares or kilometers can be researched or scouted in one day in comparison to a “boots on the ground” approach.

What are the biggest benefits UAVs will offer utilities?

I’d say cost savings! Surveyors on the ground for early scoping tasks are quite expensive, if a firm can leverage UAV technology early in the project it will provide significant savings.

How will UAVs impact the way data is attained, analysed and distributed?

Speed is the greatest impact. A project manager can have a large area flow in the morning, get the data back

by noon, and be analysing potential options before close of business.

Will UAVs impact the community?

Yes most definitely, the public is going to have to adjust seeing UAVs doing a bit of early survey/ reconnaissance work. However, I feel that going forward over the next few years, the public will be more welcoming of drone technology, especially as they (or more likely) their children start using UAVs as a hobby or pastime.

Will these developments influence the utility-to-customer relationship?

In the long run, yes. But we will see this in terms of better thought out and designed projects. In addition the use of UAVs for security and inspection of gas and electric right of ways will provide an enhanced level of safety to the public.

What are the biggest challenges facing GIS in today’s market?

I’d say staffing reductions.

Infrastructure firms, including utilities, really need to develop, educate and maintain their geospatial staff. I’ve seen an alarming trend of GIS staff being subsumed into engineering or information technology departments. I find this alarming as a proper mapping staff really needs to stand alone to support those disciplines, not become a cog in those departments.

How do you see the industry overcoming these challenges?

The rank and file GIS practitioners really need to be advocates for their own position within organisations.

This includes staying up to date with

MARK LIMBRUNER.

the latest technology, trends, and management styles. Stay ahead of the curve; anticipate your (in-house) clients’ needs and the drive to merge and subsume GIS will fade away.

How has the GIS industry evolved over your career?

I’ve been doing mapping, CAD and GIS for over 34 years, and the change in technology and the tools we have at our disposal has been amazing. In the end though, it comes down to creating an accurate picture for our clients – whether they be utility companies, exploration firms, or government agencies– using maps, data and analysis. I’ve gone from using pen and ink on Mylar, to using UAVs to do my job, so it surely isn’t boring!

For more information on GITA NA and the geospatial industry in the US, Mark can be contacted at melimbruner@gita.org.

Unitywater’s quick response to Dial Before You Dig enquiries has been recognised with a 2016 Asia Pacific Spatial Excellence Award (APSEA).

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nitywater’s quick response to Dial Before You Dig enquiries has been recognised with a 2016 Asia Pacific Spatial Excellence Award (APSEA).

The awards, hosted by the Geospatial Information & Technology Association (GITA), Spatial Industries Business Association (SIBA) and Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute (SSSI) were earlier this year in Melbourne, with over 350 professionals celebrating the accomplishments of their colleagues over the past year.

The evening featured the work of Asia Pacific based professionals working around the world on both collaborative business projects and philanthropic efforts.

Unitywater took out the GITA Australia and New Zealand Dial Before You Dig Performance Award, which recognises high performance from member companies when responding to Dial Before You Dig enquiries related to the location of underground infrastructure.

Competition entrants are judged on a range of criteria, including speed of response, quality of response, availability, accuracy and quality of material provided to the enquirer.

Previous winners of the prestigious Performance Award include Energex, Water Corporation WA and Telstra.

Unitywater Executive Manager Infrastructure Planning and Capital Delivery Simon Taylor said the award

can be attributed to the diligence of staff, as well as a system called TicketAccess (previously known as AIRS – Asset Information Request System) that Unitywater adopted from Australian software and services company PelicanCorp in June 2014.

“The system allows Unitywater to very quickly workflow a Dial Before You Dig request with paperwork and a map,” Mr Taylor said.

“According to a report charting Unitywater’s performance in the 2015 calendar year, we responded to a total of 45,483 requests and our average response time was just 20 minutes.

“Congratulations to the Unitywater team on this outstanding result.”

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CENTIMETRE ACCURACY WITH AUGMENTED REALITY Mobile GIS solutions have been available for some time, and there are many competing products to select from. However, with the advent of augmented reality, there are now better ways of finding, visualising, comprehending and capturing asset data within GIS applications.

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ugmented reality (AR) is the integration of digital information with live video or the user's environment in real time. C.R. Kennedy, SmartNet Aus and Augview, three leading companies in the geospatial industry, have joined forces to provide a comprehensive solution for locating and managing both above and below ground assets with centimetre accuracy. Augview develops and markets an AR GIS product to assist field workers within the utility, telco and local government markets, in capturing, maintaining and comprehending underground infrastructure. AR provides users the experience of mixing the real world with the digital world. With current technologies (tablets and smartphones), that means overlaying a virtual scene over the live video stream provided by the deviceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rear-facing camera.

The primary advantage of displaying hidden or planned utility assets using AR is comprehension. Those of us that have worked for years in the GIS industry, or are long-term users of GIS map products, take it for granted that everyone comprehends maps, plans and engineering drawings in the same way that we do. For us, the process of interpretation and comprehension is natural and generally automatic.

However, converting the lines and symbols on the paper or screen into a mental model of the world is a learned process. With an augmented reality display on a tablet or smartphone however, the image is much closer to our real-world experience, is quicker to comprehend, and is more easily

understandable by an untrained user. In particular, we have better comprehension of the position of the underground assets, with respect to our position, which should lead to fewer collateral damage incidents.

With tablets and smartphones, an augmented reality display is achieved by overlaying the image that a virtual camera sees over the live video. The virtual camera must be at exactly the same position and orientation in the virtual scene, as the real camera is within the real world.

Critical to the solution are sensors that provide highly accurate, real-time inputs of position and orientation. For use outdoors, these sensors include the accelerometer, magnetometer, gyro and GNSS sensor. In particular, the GNSS sensor identifies where the camera is located. Currently, consumergrade tablets and smartphones do not incorporate a GNSS sensor able to provide centimetre accuracy. For that we need to use a system that supports the GNSS Real Time Kinematic (RTK) corrections provided by a Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) network, as provided by SmartNet Aus. The RTK corrections address errors inherent to all GNSS satellites, and thus enables centimetre accurate positioning in real-time. The SmartNet Aus base stations receive positioning signals from GPS/GNSS satellites to calculate extremely accurate RTK corrections (down to +/-2 centimetres) and broadcast them to GPS/GNSS receivers.

The Leica Zeno 20 is perhaps the first commercially available tablet that

incorporates everything required for high quality outdoor AR experience into a single ergonomic package. The Zeno 20 houses high quality sensors, including an integrated, high accuracy GNSS receiver supporting RTK corrections. It is ruggedised, supports a 4.7â&#x20AC;? screen, runs either Android or Windows embedded, and incorporates an 8MP camera.

The Zeno 20 provides the Augview user with an ergonomic, stable, accurate platform, simplifying field operations and providing excellent alignment between virtual and real worlds.

Much of the data within existing GIS databases is not spatially accurate.

Augview provides online and offline data capture and update functionality, allowing the user to correct the geometries of existing GIS features.

The Zeno 20 provides survey-quality positioning, allowing high accuracy data maintenance. It is simply a matter of standing over an asset and updating its location, or dragging its GIS geometry into position.

Augview also supports the capture of photos, either freestanding or associated with GIS features. When photographing open trenches showing exposed assets, the application stores not only the GNSS location, but also all orientation and camera details. This allows post processing functions to transform the trench image into an accurately positioned ground plane image, allowing later office-based data maintenance procedures.

ASSET MANAGEMENT

Water

Utility Partner Solutions

IS OUR BUSINESS

TRILITY is a national water utility company with a significant asset base across metropolitan and rural Victoria and a focus on building on this investment in a State where innovation and customer service are critical elements for success.

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ater is TRILITY’s core business across regional and metropolitan Australia and New Zealand, where the company continues to grow its footprint and offer every type of industry service and water management solution – including treatment, reuse, irrigation schemes, asset management, finance, and design and construct.

This expertise is exemplified in the range of assets under management and services delivered across Victoria, where TRILITY’s presence spans the delivery of water treatment and irrigation facilities in rural areas such as the Campaspe region and Grampians Wimmera Mallee in Western Victoria, while also delivering innovative services in Melbourne’s north and the Geelong Barwon region.

“The makeup of our Victorian operations clearly demonstrates the

broad range of TRILITY’s capability and also our capacity to deliver services,” said TRILITY Managing Director Francois Gouws. “From biosolids management at Barwon Water, water treatment at Yan Yean, wastewater treatment in Echuca and a leading edge irrigation scheme in Cranbourne, our footprint covers the breadth of Victoria.

It incorporates significant activities in metropolitan regions where our customers include the major water utilities and irrigators seeking to extract value with every drop they use.”

However, the service TRILITY delivers for corporate, municipal and government clients as well as partners is much more than bricks and mortar; it’s about a team of talented professionals establishing and enforcing best practice where needed.

This is perhaps best illustrated by the activities of the company’s water

quality team, which operates across all TRILITY facilities, assessing and continuously improving water quality performance and systems. TRILITY’s team incorporates the work of talented process and support engineers who monitor the company’s network of national drinking and recycled water operations and ensure standards are met in line with an integrated water quality management system.

TRILITY’s expertise has evolved since 1991, and today Mitsubishi Corporation and a consortium of partners have underpinned the company’s expansion to a level where it operates and maintains more than 42 plants/ schemes with a combined capacity of over 1.8GL/d. Behind this growth lies the expertise and leadership of more than 230 employees within the TRILITY Group Pty Ltd, operating out of offices in Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane and

ASSET MANAGEMENT

Perth, as well as regional locations in most states. Today, the company manages the largest private utility irrigation networks in regional Victoria and South Australia. It delivers a range of complex services in these states, as well as Queensland, Western Australia and New South Wales that includes: • 24 water treatment plants and desalination plants • 15 wastewater treatment and reuse plants/schemes • Two Irrigation schemes covering 212km • Biosolids facility capable of producing up to 60,000 tonnes/year.

TRILITY’s depth of expertise also incorporates the services of Hydramet, which operates on an independent level across more than 600 sites in Australia servicing: • 253 potable water treatment plants • 49 process water treatment plants • 37 wastewater treatment plants • Five desalination plants • Five irrigation schemes • Three re-use schemes.

Hydramet has built its reputation since 1989 on the delivery of gas chlorination and chemical dosing system design, development, manufacture, installation and service.

Today, its expertise also encompasses a wider range of water treatment technologies including reverse osmosis, electro-chlorination, filtration and electro-dialysis reversal.

Hydramet has also developed its own proprietary products to provide bespoke water treatment solutions for a range of corporate and government clients.

TRILITY’s operations and maintenance offering is built on its ability to work in collaboration with clients to manage, maintain and operate water and wastewater services to urban and regional customers.

“Our clients are planning for the

community’s future demands and expect reliable, sustainable and efficient water, wastewater and reuse water solutions delivered across networks,” Mr. Gouws said.

The company’s capability includes implementing or working with established SCADA control systems, utility services, laboratory testing, billing and customer service.

“Our expertise flows from being the operator of water treatment plants around Australia and delivering an in-house expertise that offers low cost solutions that ensures clients’ needs are met,” Mr. Gouws said.

Asset management is a core capability for TRILITY, underpinning every operation and providing the strategic and tactical lead for asset management, maintenance management, asset renewal delivery and operations technology (OT). The asset management team applies systems and processes on operational projects every day and delivers results in short timeframes that have successfully passed the scrutiny of regulators in three states, including Victoria. The recent addition of OT resources into this team is furthering the delivery of numerous innovative

solutions for TRILITY. “We understand that value can be created from scale,” Mr. Gouws said.

“Bigger water infrastructure assets and larger markets generate better returns while controlling multiple assets saves money and valuable resources.”

By contrast, the company’s multidisciplinary design and construct services for water, wastewater treatment and recycled water schemes in the municipal, resource, energy, industrial and environmental sectors ensures an approach that is bespoke for each client.

“As a water constructor that owns and operates many assets, we provide more than construction expertise,” Mr Gouws said. “We have in-house detailed design engineers covering all mechanical, process, electrical and Instrumentation Control and Automation (ICA) disciplines, construction managers and commissioning resources, allowing us to both incorporate lessons learned on previous projects and build on evolving ideas on how to deliver efficiencies across new projects.”

For more information about the range of services TRILITY offers, visit www.trility.com.au

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NETWORKS Utility Partner Solutions

HOW TO PROTECT NETWORKS

AGAINST MOMENTARY OUTAGES The energy market is undergoing significant change and if utilities don’t do everything they can to provide a reliable network, they will face further challenges in the future.

A

2016 Energy Outlook Survey

by KPMG found that the top ranked disruptive trends in the industry are renewable standards, emissions standards, clean power plan requirements, grid resilience, and distributed generation growth.

Due to these trends, utilities are seeing a shift in consumer engagement. People are now more aware of their supply as well as grid alternatives such as solar and battery storage, which are giving consumers the power to shop around if their network is unreliable. Consumers want an improved and more reliable energy experience, one in which things like blackouts, even if temporary, are unacceptable.

While, around 80 per cent of overhead faults are only temporary, if power is out for even a short amount of time, it impacts a utility's customers, call centre and bottom line.

Previously, the only way for utilities to protect spur lines from faults that cause outages were by using fuse blowing or fuse saving, but these strategies are costly and can actually decrease reliability.

Utilities typically use power fuses to protect spurs against short circuits because power fuses offer reliable protection. However, fuse operation requires a visit from utility crews to replace the fuse before power can be restored, even if the cause of the short

circuit has resolved itself.

To avoid extended outages on temporary faults, utilities may also employ a ‘fuse saving’ approach, where an upstream recloser will operate first to clear the fault before the fuse operates. However, many more customers are impacted by momentary outages due to the operation of the upstream device.

When a fuse saving strategy is employed, before the fuse blows, upstream equipment ‘blinks’ the line to determine whether the fault is temporary or permanent. Blinking results in more momentary outages for everyone connected to the main feeder.

With a fuse blowing strategy, any fault (permanent or temporary), causes the spur fuse to operate, resulting in a costly truck roll to locate the blown fuse, inspect kilometers of line, and replace it.

In an effort to combat momentary outages S&C Electric Company have created the TripSaver® II CutoutMounted Recloser which protects spur distribution lines against both temporary and so-called permanent faults—so upstream devices don’t need to operate to protect against momentary faults.

The TripSaver® II Cutout-Mounted Reclosers combines the advantages of the fuse-saving and fuse-blowing strategies minus the drawbacks.

When a temporary fault occurs, TripSaver II eliminates momentary outages for customers on the main feeder by only blinking the affected spur line. This spur line protection strategy improves power utility’s reliability and bottom line, therefore decreasing the cost of electricity to the end users.

Tripsaver II is ideally suited for protection of spur lines that experience frequent transient faults. This selfpowered, electronically controlled, single-phase vacuum fault interrupter, is available for installation in new or existing S&C or MacLean Power Systems fuse cut-out mountings.

Contact S&C today at www.sandc.com to learn more about reducing momentary outages and improving reliability to customers.

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Two Results. One Solution.

Lower your call out costs

Reduce customer outages

How often are you sending trucks out to spur lines to replace blown fuses? Each of those dispatches eats into your operations budget.

Over 80% of faults occur on spur lines. Every outage impacts your customers, your call center, and your bottom line.

Put that budget to better use

It's time you change your protection strategy

Reduce call outs and customer outages with TripSaverŽ II Cutout-Mounted Reclosers Learn more at sandc.com/ts16 Š S&C Electric Company 2016, all rights reserved

S C A DA

COLIBAN WATER’S THREE-STAGE

SCADA ENHANCEMENT

Many of Australia’s major utility organisations are focused on improving operational and maintenance capabilities within their networks – be it for water or power and distribution systems. SCADA systems in particular have become the point of difference to improve capabilities, especially through proactive asset management and data analytics.

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hile there are many opportunities to save costs and increase efficiency by enhancing these functions, it can be just as risky if the framework for improvement isn’t aligned with business needs.

Coliban Water is one of these major utility organisations focused on transforming its SCADA capabilities.

A regional water authority that covers 16,500 kilometres of central and northern Victoria, Coliban Water manages more than 350 sites that comprise of water treatment plants, water reclamation plants, pressure monitoring stations, sewer pumping stations, water pumping stations and flow meters.

Dan Smith, SCADA Manager at Coliban Water, said his team is managing three improvement phases that will transform the utility’s main SCADA system into an integrated and responsive setup.

Dan’s team comprises three specialists including himself, and is responsible for all site communications and SCADA software systems, including CITECT, ClearSCADA and related network diagnostic systems.

“Currently, the maintenance of our remote terminal units and SCADA hardware out in the field is outsourced to our private partner, LendLease,” said Mr Smith. “We manage all communications, but issues that arise within our RTUs are outsourced, including repair works onsite.”

RTU management is usually conducted in-house, but up until

three years ago, every part of SCADA management at Coliban Water was outsourced.

“We’re on a path to consolidate many of the management and repair functions in-house. That’s why we’re starting with the communications network.”

STAGES ONE & TWO The majority of the network previously ran on an analogue UHS system, which had several limitations including low speed, limited visibility on network activity and performance, and no ability to remotely manage assets in the field.

By upgrading to a digital UHS system, Mr Smith and his team will be able to carry out firmware upgrades remotely, manage devices remotely, change power and increase speed throughput ten-fold. This will make it far easier to manage the network, as well as provide more reliability.

While the first stage involves communications and upgrading to digital technology (currently underway), the second stage has just been completed – shifting to an open-protocol network instead of a proprietary one. The move is an important foundational step to enabling the network to support DNP3.

With such a large geographical portfolio, the network has, for a long time, been locked down to support only one protocol. Mr Smith’s team had to change the way the network operates to accommodate an open protocol, to be able to implement an RTU platform

SCADA INTERFACE AT COLIBAN WATER, COURTESY OF DAN SMITH.

that supports DNP3.

Now having successfully moved to an open protocol, the team can perform an upgrade and implement an RTU platform anywhere in the network.

“It’s been a big benefit and has given us a lot of freedom to trial different technologies. We’re not locked into one vendor for RTU platforms anymore,” Mr Smith said.

The priority for his team in the context of benefits is enabling DNP3 event-based reporting. Traditionally, the way data was obtained involved sequential polling across the entire network – in effect, polling for static information every two hours.

The planning team would have to go out and install multiple data loggers at specific sites for a limited period of time, because the quality of information coming back from the network was relatively poor and unreliable. These data loggers would come in the form of a battery-powered device.

But with DNP3 integration and the implementation of battery powered RTUs, this no longer needs to be done.

An End to End Telemetry Solution Point Green – Low Cost, High Spec: 3G / DNP3 / IP68 / 2 sensors / CI & DI I/O options / RS232, RS485 & SDI-12 / 5+ years battery life Ideal for simple remote and/or underground ‘out-of-sight’ monitoring applications.

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When Point Colour RTUs are combined with our web-hosted end user data visualisation platform, ‘Palette’, they provide a real time monitoring and management tool that enables effective decision making.

To find out more contact email info@metasphere.net.au or call 1300 785 681 www.metasphere.net.au

S C A DA REMOTE TERMINAL UNIT, COURTESY OF DAN SMITH.

The sites can remain operationally dormant and gather reliable data, which is generally sent back to the main SCADA system once per day.

The data is being used for network analysis for long term upgrade planning for the water and sewer networks. It is now also being fed into predictive analytics software for asset maintenance.

“There will be significant cost savings once we completely change how we maintain assets on a daily basis. There are many flow-on effects from what we’re doing.”

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STAGE THREE The third phase of SCADA improvement relates to rolling out new RTU platforms that support DNP3, which will provide higher quality data to the business. This phase, which has just begun, will take approximately three to four years across all sites.

Not only is data quality a challenge in the effort to complete Stage Three, but hardware obsolescence is a challenge as well. Much of the field hardware is at the tail end of their lifecycle period.

“Our SCADA system was primarily set up as a monitoring and alarming system, but now there are more business units across the organisation that want higher quality data, more

resolution. And that’s where we’re struggling, because we have a lot of old tech in the field and not entirely event-based,” Mr Smith explained.

The field RTUs are managed by a master RTU platform in Bendigo, which is no longer supported – the units in the field themselves are not obsolete, but the master platform is.

Over the next 24 months, Mr Smith’s team will target 170 sewer pump stations for RTU upgrades, thereby improving data quality into Coliban Water’s business systems. At the same time, these upgrades will also standardise the software of the RTU system and align pump station functions.

“We'll get the double benefit of increased throughput from the site in terms of monitoring and data management; and RTU software standardisation. It's a pretty important project, and probably our biggest focus for the next two or three years,” Mr Smith remarked.

Mr Smith and the team have spent the last eight months market testing every SCADA historian, particularly for interoperability and seamless integration. And of the five units that were tested, only one was integrated successfully with Coliban Water’s SCADA system.

“One of the biggest things that we stipulated with the vendors was it had to be something we could install ourselves. We wanted confidence that we could install it and, if something went wrong, we could look after the product ourselves. We were not interested in solutions that needed third party products to get the software to work,” he explained.

This approach directly addressed an all-too-familiar situation faced by many organisations. Every time a vendor performs an upgrade, the SCADA team has to reassess whether or not that third party software is compatible with their integration.

Coliban Water’s effort to enhance its SCADA system is as much a response to current business needs, to that of the long-term objectives.

Mr Smith’s team is already looking at obsolescence issues in 2023, because the budgets are already being planned for that period.

“We’ve tackled the network, and we’re now tackling SCADA software and hardware. A big part of that is figuring out how all the data will be managed going forward.”

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PIPE & CO N DU I T

78

Considerations regarding environmental impact and sustainability are always at the front of mind on utility projects around the country. For suppliers of plastic pipe, it's a keen consideration too â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and now, two Australian manufacturers of plastic pipe have developed Environmental Product Declarations for their products, giving their customers verified information about the life cycle impact of their pipes.

THE ENVIRONMENT E

nvironmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are thirdparty verified documents based on ISO14025 and EN15804 Standards, that communicate transparent and comparable information about the life cycle environmental impact of a product or service. Specifically, product declarations include information on the environmental impact of raw material acquisition, energy use and efficiency, composition of materials and chemical substances, emissions to air, soil and water, and waste generation.

EPDs are of great assistance to customers weighing up many different products, such as builders and developers seeking to construct environmentally responsible buildings

and infrastructure. The fact that EPDs present key environmental product performance data in a uniform format make them particularly beneficial.

By referring to a manufacturer’s EPDs, customers are also armed with the evidence they require to claim credit points under the Green Building Council of Australia and the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia's rating systems.

Manufacturers in Australia can apply to create an EPD for their products in the Australasian EPD Program, which operates in alignment with the International EPD System.

Having an EPD for a product does not imply that the declared product is environmentally superior to alternatives

Iplex EPD’s Declaring our environmental credentials

PVC

ssure Non-Pre

lines PVC

Iplex Pipe

EPDS AND PLASTIC PIPE Iplex and Vinidex have acted as first movers in the plastic pipe industry

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Pipes fo

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Pressure Pipes PVC BlackMAX™ and SewerMAX ™

Polypropylene

Produc t

Non-Pre

Declara

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Pipes Polyethy

15804 and EN 1.10 Version 15 2/20 orda l date 06/1 713 D) in acc with ISO 14025 and EN 15804 Approva ber S-P-00 20 l Product Declaration (EPD) in accordance tion (EP Version 1.10 t Declara 2/20 tion num Environmenta Produc a date 06/1 Registra Approval date 06/12/2015 mental Expiry EPD: Australi Environ 4 this Environmental Registration number S-P-00712 tion of data: 201 Product Declara Expiry date 06/12/2020 of applica rence for the tion (EPD) in accordance with a refe hical area of this EPD: Australia ISO 14025 and Geograp Year taken as Geographical area of application EN 15804 data: 2014 the for reference a as Year taken Version 1.00 (PIPA) Approval date ciation Environ 06/12/2015 Pipe Asso Registration numbe men Industry (PIPA) r S-P-00tal Produc Plastics Industry Pipe Association n Plastics t Declara Geographical Expiry date 06/12/ 714 – In collaboration with the Australian Australia Products tion (EP Pipe the area of applica Pressure 2020 with D) in acc EPD of Iplex Pipelines PVC tion of this EPD: EPD of Iplex Pipelines boration Year taken as Australia ordance In colla PP Pipe Products a reference for ucts – with ISO – Prod In the collabor data: 2014 ation with the 14025 ssure Pipe Australia ISO nce with

EPD of

— it is simply a transparent declaration of the life-cycle environmental impact.

The overall goal of an EPD is to provide relevant and verified information to the customer and industry. An important aspect of EPDs is to provide the basis of a fair comparison of products and services by their environmental performance.

EPDs can reflect the continuous environmental improvement of products and services over time, and are able to communicate and add up relevant environmental information along a product's supply chain.

on eclarati ronmental Product Declaration Envi Envir

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PIPE & CO N DU I T

MAKING A DECLARATION FOR

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(PIPA)

In December 2015 Iplex Pipelines first published verified and registered International Environmental Product Declarations (EPD®) our suite now includes four EPD’s – PVC Non-Pressure Pipes, PVC Pressure Pipes, Polypropylene Pipes and Polyethylene Pipes.

IPLEX EPD’S ARE:  Green Star and ISCA’s IS rating scheme EPD compliant  EPD’s confirm with ISO 14025 and EN15804  Product specific results  Verified by an independent third party  Has at least a cradle-to-gate scope

For more information visit the Iplex website on

www.iplex.com.au

79

PIPE & CO N DU I T

by developing their own EPDs through the Australasian EPD Program. The EPDs have been produced by Edge Environment, and have undergone thorough third party critical review by Catalyst.

These EPDs cover pressure and non-pressure PVC pipes, and also polypropylene (PP) pipes. EPDs are also currently being developed for PE pipe products.

The results of the Iplex and Vinidex life cycle assessment work show that the

world leading technologies employed in the Australian plastic pipe industry provide significant environmental benefits: • Lower density foam core PVC nonpressure pipe utilises internal scrap, is lighter weight and can reduce embodied carbon per pipe length by up to 75 per cent • Oriented PVC (PVC-O) material allows for exceptionally tough, impact resistant and ductile pipe, with less material and reduced

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embodied carbon per pipe length by up to 50 per cent • Modified PVC (PVC-M) material allows for the optimum combination of strength and ductility with a thinner wall, less material and reduced embodied carbon per length of pipe by up to 15 per cent.

Iplex Pipelines first published its suite of verified and registered International EPDs in December 2015. The declarations cover their BlackMAX and SewerMAX polypropylene drainage pipes; ApolloBLUE, Rhino and Iplex Premium PVC pressure pipes; along with foam core and solid wall DWV pipe and conduits.

The suite was extended in May 2016 to include polyethylene pressure and non-pressure pipes and conduits.

The polyethylene pipe range includes Poliplex pressure pipes for water and gas; Sewerplex non-pressure sewer pipe; Greenline, an economical water pipe for rural irrigation applications; Thermapipe, the mining slurry pipe supplied with a white outer skin for high solar reflectance; and the new Millennium high stress crack resistant pipe for trenchless installation and high value assets.

The EPDs produced by Vinidex cover their StormPRO and SewerPRO polypropylene pipes; PVC non-pressure pipes and conduits used in buildings; and PVC pressure pipes.

DEVELOPING AN EPD EPDs can be developed across a wide range of sectors involved in the construction industry. There are five steps to follow in order to create, register and publish an environmental declaration in the International EPD System: 1. Find or create relevant product category rules (PCRs) for the product category 2. Perform a life cycle analysis study based, on the PCRs 3. Compile an EPD Report 4. Submit EPD report for verification and certification 5. Register and publish your EPD. The International EPD System is open to EPDs for any type of goods or services. An EPD may be published by a single company or by a group of companies as a sector EPD.

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GAS PIPELINES

WHERE IS NEGI NOW? Since Jemena won the contract to construct and operate the Northern Gas Pipeline in November 2015, there has been considerable development on the project. Here, we look at the latest progress, contracts awarded and the future outlook for the pipeline, amid concerns surrounding the gas reserves available to the asset.

T

he $800 million Northern Gas Pipeline (NGP), formerly known as the North East Gas Interconnector (NEGI), will connect the Northern Territory to the east coast gas market to counteract a predicted future gas shortage.

After a competitive procurement process, Jemena won the contract to build the 622km pipeline with its chosen route from Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory to Mount Isa in Queensland. Jemena beat out APA Group, DDG Operations (DUET) and Pipeline Consortia Partners Australia (China National Petroleum Corporation) to secure the contract.

Since then, planning has ramped up, several of the main subcontractors have been selected and the order for the pipeline’s steel was submitted to suppliers on 1 April 2016. Jemena NGP Project Director, Jonathan Spink, said the project is on schedule, with the design for the pipeline and compression facilities underway and a number of procurement packages currently out to tender.

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CURRENT PROGRESS Construction on the 622km pipeline is expected to commence in early 2017 with commissioning in 2018, around the same time that analysts are predicting the east coast market will face a gas shortage. The first major milestone for the project occurred in early May 2016, when the first batch of 3,500 tonnes of steel was cast, with pipe manufacture and coating commencing shortly after.

Jemena also ordered four Solar Turbines Taurus 60 compressor packages, which will be installed at

Phillip Creek in the Northern Territory and Mount Isa in Queensland. Mr Spink said that even though Jemena was only awarded the project in November 2015, there was almost two years of planning and development work that occurred prior.

“We’ve also established strong and respectful relationships with Traditional Owners, landholders and local communities, and we expect construction to proceed without difficulty. It’s important to realise that Jemena’s work on the bid set a strong foundation for the delivery of the works,” Mr Spink said.

Moving forward, Jemena will list tenders for the construction subcontract and remaining design scopes, including earthworks and control system design, in late 2016.

CONTRACTS AWARDED: WHO’S WHO Shortly after Jemena’s contract was announced, the Northern Territory Government’s Power and Water Corporation (PWC) signed a ten year gas sales agreement with chemical and fertiliser company Incitec Pivot, to supply gas to it’s Queensland plants via the NGP. This agreement made Incitec the pipeline’s foundation customer.

Construction company McConnell Dowell was then selected as the construction contractor for the project, after supporting Jemena through the tender process. McConnell Dowell will build the 622km high pressure gas pipeline, as well as two compressor stations and mid-line facilities.

McConnell Dowell is currently in the process of finding subcontractors for various parts of the project, having

JEMENA NGP PROJECT DIRECTOR JONATHAN SPINK.

released procurement packages on ICN Gateway, the primary source of tender opportunities for the project.

Around 200 contracts will be awarded across the project’s entirety, with 53 work packages including field survey support activities, engineering, procurement and preliminary construction work packages having already been put out to tender. Work packages for cultural, environmental, geotechnical and centreline surveys have already been awarded with work currently underway.

Mr Spink said the project is expected to create approximately 900 jobs during the planning, construction and commissioning phases.

“We will focus on sourcing labour from close to the project area – in the Tennant Creek and Barkly areas of NT and Mount Isa region in western Queensland,” Mr Spink said.

“Jemena is also implementing a business investment fund to assist

GAS PIPELINES JEMENA PRESENTING TO BUSINESSES AT TENNANT CREEK.

THE FIRST STEEL FOR NGP PIPE IS MANUFACTURED.

small and medium enterprises in the NT and Mount Isa areas, designed to build local capability and capacity, and assist those businesses to participate in the project.”

A contract to provide third party inspection services for the project was also awarded to Intertek, a global leading total quality assurance provider.

As part of this contract, Intertek will provide critical expertise at the point of fabrication, deploying a team of quality inspectors to oversee the manufacture of the pipework, including quality of welding and steel composition.

GAS MARKET CONDITIONS When Jemena won the contract to build the NGP, it had a choice between constructing a 14-inch diameter pipeline or a 12-inch pipeline, depending on demand. Due to a lack of near term interest from gas producers and buyers, combined with the project’s 2018 deadline, Jemena chose to go with the 12-inch diameter.

Antoon Boey, Executive General Manager Business Development at Jemena said that there wasn’t enough gas to warrant a 14-inch pipeline, but demand could increase in the future.

“To meet our 2018 deadline, we had to order the steel for the pipeline by 1 April 2016, and there wasn’t enough gas to justify anything bigger than a 12-inch pipeline at this time,” Mr Boey said.

“However, capacity can be relatively quickly increased as demand for transportation services increases. The scalability of the NGP means the size of the pipeline at the start won’t be a barrier to gas field development in the NT once sufficient volumes are ready for transport.”

The lack of interest from gas producers and buyers is thought to be connected to a proposed moratorium on fraccing put forward by the Territory Opposition. The moratorium was widely opposed by many key players across the industry as it threatened future development in the state.

Mr Boey said that while talk of a moratorium may have deterred potential suppliers of the pipeline, it was not the reason Jemena chose 12 inches over 14.

“While the possibility of a moratorium on gas extraction may be contributing to producers’ reticence to invest in developing their onshore

reserves, it has had no impact on the decision to choose a 12-inch pipeline,” Mr Boey said.

FUTURE OUTLOOK While current market conditions may have raised concern that there won’t be enough gas supply for the pipeline once constructed, Mr Boey said this uncertainty won’t last.

“It’s our view that current instability in the market for gas is temporary and the NGP has the potential to drive gas sector development in the Northern Territory, creating jobs and supporting growth and prosperity for the future,” he said.

Once sufficient gas is available for transport, Jemena’s long-term vision is to build a connection from Mt Isa to the Wallumbilla hub on Queensland’s east coast.

“Providing a link for Northern Territory gas to flow directly to a key trading location could significantly change the dynamics of the east coast gas market.

“Competitive prices and more choice will make the Northern Territory a substantial new supplier for east coast buyers, accelerating the development and viability of the NT gas sector, which in turn will benefit all gas consumers,” Mr Boey said.

FIRST LENGTH OF PIPELINE IS COATED.

WOMEN IN UTILITIES In the past utilities have been a male dominated industry, but today women are leading the way in engineering, analytics and project management across the electricity, gas and water sectors. Here, five women from metering, data and asset management company, Select Solutions, discuss the challenges they have faced, their mentors and why they love working in utilities.

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ALANNA POLLOCK, ANALYTICAL CHEMIST After finishing my chemistry degree in Christchurch, New Zealand, I came to Melbourne for what was supposed to be one summer. However, I was surprised to see that many chemist roles were inviting graduates to apply and I ended up at Select Solutions in the Chemical Services team as an Analytical Chemist.

Our team is responsible for completing analytical tests on insulating material (oils, gases and papers) samples, which are used in electrical equipment in both the transmission and distribution areas.

The data collected from the different tests that we complete is used to give a snapshot of both the equipment’s operating condition and also the condition of the insulating material.

My role today is more customer and people focused, completing asset diagnostics and condition reports for

ALANNA POLLOCK.

clients, assisting with tailoring our service on a per client basis, training up new staff and dealing with the back office tasks required to run the lab.

The thing I enjoy most about working in utilities is the diversity of this sector. I frequently get asked how it is that I am a chemist but I work in the electrical industry. Until I applied for this position I was the same! As this has been my first role within the utilities sector, I’m always amazed at the broad range of talent and the differing skill sets of the other groups and individuals that I work alongside.

The biggest challenges we face are meeting our customers’ needs whilst working within a strict regulatory environment, and prioritising tasks at a minute's notice to ensure that situations are rectified as soon as possible.

The team I work with (both in

KATE MARTEN.

Australia and Singapore) have been by far the most influential mentors in my career. They have not only taught me the majority of what I know of the utilities industry, but have supported and encouraged me in my journey from being a fresh graduate to where I am today.

For the foreseeable future, I see myself staying in the utilities industry.

The personal growth opportunities in my current role keep me interested and challenged.

KATE MARTEN, GAS METERING ASSET AND DATA TEAM LEADER I entered the utilities industry in 2005 joining the Gas Data team, and I have worked on the gas side of the AusNet Services business since then. My current role is Gas Metering Asset and Data Team Leader, and I am responsible for the operational integrity of the gas

metering business segment through both asset and data management.

I run the gas meter replacement programs for AusNet Services, from identification right through to replacement. This can present many challenges from an asset management perspective. To ensure these projects run well, the best way to overcome most challenges has been to build great relationships with all parties involved, from the suppliers to the contractors.

I’m enjoying the continual journey of learning that I am on in the utilities industry. I work closely with a number of engineers who have helped me go from data analyst to gas metering leader.

Customers want to be smarter with their energy consumption, so keeping up with the customer demand is challenging yet interesting. Often their wants are ahead of our technology, so getting the right teams involved in innovation can be a challenge.

The interest in renewables is also a challenge for utilities; however, it will also present opportunities.

I have had a few mentors, both inside the utilities industry and outside. From within, Cheryl Kelly was a great mentor.

She showed that while being a woman in this industry can present hurdles, they can be negotiated with hard work and determination. Ben Woodman has also been a great mentor here at Select Solutions. He has really helped me get a handle on perspective. Harriet Shing MP has also been a fantastic source of mentorship and inspiration. She shows that regardless of gender, if you want something you just need to work hard and believe that it is achievable.

It can be difficult to break the boy’s club mentality in this industry; however, it can be done. I have had the opportunity to work with a number of men who have only ever seen me as a colleague, not as a woman trying to infiltrate the club. Unfortunately, I have also faced a number of males who really don’t think we belong here, which is a shame. However, it just makes me

KIRSTIE WU.

more determined to prove myself.

I really enjoy working in the utilities sector. Ideally, I’d love to move across into the Department of Energy so I can help drive policy and direction. I think with the growth in renewables, there are exciting opportunities ahead.

KIRSTIE WU, SOLUTIONS ARCHITECT I have spent the majority of my career working as a software developer in commercial software design and development, with diverse industry experience in transportation, telecommunication, utilities and government.

I am currently working as a Solutions Architect, responsible for the design of applications and services for Select Solutions and externally for our clients.

I work with other architects to define and govern the strategic direction that will assure technical quality before, during and after development.

I’m currently working on an exciting project that involves improving the efficiency of the usage of renewable energy. We are building a system to take on a role as a facilitator of energy trading transactions, by aggregating power generated by household rooftop panels and trading or sharing it. Being the Solutions Architect, my main responsibility is to find the right technologies and design the system

that best fits this purpose.

I first got involved in the utilities sector by building an asset management system for a utility company around ten years ago. Since then, I have continuously worked with the utilities sector and built systems for various purposes such as data acquisition, data analysis and visualisation.

I like the fact that the work we do has a direct impact on people’s daily lives and business productivity in a positive way. Most of the systems we build have a direct impact on how utility companies operate.

I have huge admiration for Edith Clarke, the first female electrical engineer and the first female professor of electrical engineering 100 years ago.

I particularly like her famous quote:

MARIE SLAKO.

“There is no demand for women engineers, as such, as there are for women doctors; but there’s always a demand for anyone who can do a good piece of work”. She inspires me whenever I am struggling as the minority in this industry.

Most of the time, I am the only female in the room and it can get lonely. “I don’t fit in” is the feeling I often have and I have to talk myself

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WOMEN IN UTILITIES out of it if I want to do a good job. The recent trend of increasing workplace diversity has started to address this issue by having a more balanced workforce.

I think the best way to overcome gender inequality in any industry is to face the fact that there is different treatment for our male and female workers. Providing equal opportunities regardless of an employee’s gender would be a good step forward.

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MARIE SLAKO, DELIVERY MANAGER – DATA SERVICES I’ve spent 14 years in the geospatial industry, the last five years of that servicing the utilities industry. My current role is Delivery Manager – Data Services, which sees me responsible for the delivery of all projects and programs within the data services department, specifically in power, transport, government and water/gas. Collecting, processing and delivering field asset data on electricity networks; condition monitoring to predict asset failures before they occur, all form part of what a day in the office can look like for me Technology is constantly evolving and as a business we also need to constantly evolve to keep up with that change. In the power industry we see a lot of ageing infrastructure which increases the risk of bushfire.

Our customers need to know where their network has issues, Geomatic Technologies plays a key role in helping to identify and rectify these problems.

This year our team won the AsiaPacific Spatial Excellence Award for Innovation and Commercialisation for our unique approach to Bushfire Safety using LiDAR and high resolution imaging solutions to report on Powerline clearances. I love the interesting problems that we get to solve for our customers.

As a woman in the utilities industry I would say yes there are challenges.

My career has mostly been in male dominated environments and I’ve

learnt how to operate within that environment, but am always looking for the opportunity to network with more women.

CANDICE BLACKNEY, CORROSION PROTECTION ENGINEER While I was studying my Bachelor of Engineering (materials) at Monash University, I got a vacation position at Melbourne Water in November 2010. This led to a full-time position at Melbourne Water as a Corrosion Engineer. In November 2013, I was looking for work in Sydney and got a job as a Corrosion Protection Technician with Select Solutions, where I worked in the field on Jemena’s gas pipeline network. Following this, I moved back to Melbourne in July 2014 into my current role as a Corrosion Protection Engineer.

In this role, I manage City West Water’s corrosion protection contract.

I work with my second in charge and between two to three technicians to design new corrosion protection systems, monitor existing protection levels and all other maintenance and capital work in between to support these functions. I actually recently finished a paper on the major capital project I have been involved in for City West Water and Select Solutions, to retrofit impressed current cathodic protection systems to 280km of City West Water’s critical transfer mains.

In this project, I am responsible for investigating, designing, managing installing and commissioning twelve of these corrosion protection systems per year. There have been many challenges during this project. The two main ones were that initially no one had any experience, and that it is very difficult to find suitable land to install an ICCP system.

I enjoy that it is a highly technical job where I get to exercise my brain and I enjoy that the industry is filled with friendly and passionate people.

The thing I find most challenging is dealing with regulation from

CANDICE BLACKNEY.

governments who don’t necessarily understand the best engineering regimes and their decisions affecting things like choice of contractor and budgets.

I think, in the energy sector, the main challenge is around renewable energy and the fact that it will ultimately mean customers will not need to buy energy anymore. In the water industry, things are a bit more optimistic; however, budget pressure is probably the biggest issue being faced.

I have had one absolutely stand out mentor - Phil Hart, who employed and mentored me at Melbourne Water.

He not only had time to explain the technical points of the job for me, but also helped me manage projects and encouraged me to do things how I thought was best, while always offering a new perspective for me to consider.

I think there is very much a boy’s club culture in the engineering side of utilities. I have felt that I have needed to prove myself more because I am a young female engineer. After a while of working together though, I feel this initial judgement fades away, and we can all just get on with the work.

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DRAIN CLEANING

REDUCING FLOOD RISK THROUGH DRAIN CLEANING A drain cleaning project in the Northern Territory saw the equivalent of 2,800 box trailer loads of sediment removed from the Ludmilla Creek Trunk Drain, and formed part of larger flood mitigation works within the Ludmilla catchment to reduce the overflow of stormwater in the region.

LUDMILLA CREEK IS ONE OF DARWINâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S MAJOR WATERWAYS.

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of a tidally influenced creek that has been significantly modified by roads and sewer infrastructure which has changed the natural flushing of the creek,” Mr Finch said.

“The drain has been cleared in the past but not to the extent of this project.”

BMD Urban was awarded the contract and works included clearing the accumulated sediment from the drain, treating the Potential Acid Sulphate Soil (PASS) with lime on a specifically constructed treatment lime pad, and disposing the treated material to landfill.

“BMD Urban used a range of 30 tonne excavators to dig the drain and load the sediment onto moxies to transport to the treatment pad,” Mr Finch said.

“The sediment was also mixed with lime by an excavator and loader until the potential acid sulphate was neutralised.”

Mr Finch said although a drain cleaning project might sound simple,

there were several challenges that had to be overcome during the delivery of the project.

“All the material being removed was PASS which requires either treatment or disposal in a lined cell at a waste station.

“Disposal of waste in a lined cell in the Northern Territory is particularly costly and the lime needed to treat the PASS was not readily available and had to be hauled in from Mataranka, which is 400km from Darwin.

“Also, as a tidal mangrove environment, earthworks were particularly difficult so the contractor had to be innovative in how it managed the movements of machines (the moxies) along the length of the drain and how it supported the weight of excavators while digging out the sediment.”

In addition to the project group (including the Department of Lands, Planning and the Environment, the Department of Infrastructure, an environmental consultant and BMD

DRAIN CLEANING

T

he Ludmilla Creek Trunk Drain Reinstatement project removed 18,000 tonnes of sediment from the Ludmilla Creek Trunk Drain and 700 tonnes from the local drainage network in the Narrows, a massive amount that had built up over decades and was causing major problems for locals.

Built up sediment was contributing to localised flooding in the Narrows after small amounts of rainfall and even worse flooding during bigger storm events, as it would clog up the drain causing stormwater to overflow.

Graeme Finch, Senior Director, Infrastructure at the Northern Territory Department of Lands, Planning and the Environment, led the reinstatement project that enabled the local drainage network to resume its proper function and restored the drain to its original 1974 state.

Mr Finch said the project took three months to complete and was an important project due to changes in the way the creek operated.

“The trunk drain is the headwaters

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DRAIN CLEANING

THE DRAIN CULVERTS AFTER 18,000 TONNES OF SEDIMENT WAS REMOVED.

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Urban), a range of other stakeholders were also involved in the project, including the Northern Territory EPA, Department of Land Resource Management’s Weeds Branch, Darwin City Council, an independent third party environmental auditor and the Ludmilla Landcare community group.

Removing the sediment was a significant step in reinstating the drain to its optimal state, but Mr Finch said there are other stages of works still to be completed that will help reduce flood risk in the Ludmilla catchment.

“Sediment traps are being designed in detention basins upstream from the drain to limit the volume of sediment

that enters the drain, with the second stage of works including an improved culvert under the sewer main that crosses the drain to improve natural flushing during high tides and flood events,” Mr Finch said.

“The second stage of works also include lining the base of the drain to provide a separation between the PASS below the base and any sediment that is deposited in the drain.

“After these measures are implemented, routine maintenance is all that should be required to maintain the functioning of the drain.”

The next stage of works at Ludmilla will also involve extending the drain

to the culverts under Dick Ward Drive, increasing the natural flushing of sediment from the drain and reducing the need for further works to clear the drain of potential acid sulphate soil.

Mr Finch said the design work for the extension has been completed and all these works combined were contributing to mitigating flood risk and improving stormwater management across Darwin.

“The reinstatement of the drain is a fundamental part of the flood mitigation works within the Ludmilla catchment as without a functioning trunk drain, a major sub-catchment can’t function as it is designed.”

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CABLES

SHOULD TASMANIA BUILD A SECOND INTERCONNECTOR? It’s the world’s second longest undersea electricity cable, aiming to enhance energy security for Victoria and Tasmania, but after a fault was detected in late 2015, the Basslink interconnector went offline and impacted Tasmania’s energy security. The cable was repaired and operations resumed in June 2016 but questions surrounding the future of the state’s energy supply remained, with one question gaining the most traction; should Tasmania build a second interconnector?

I

ts purpose is to enhance energy security for both sides of Bass Strait and protect Tasmania against energy shortages, but unfortunately, when the Basslink interconnector experienced an internal fault in December 2015, it meant that until it was repaired Tasmania could no longer access electricity from the mainland.

This, combined with low water storage levels in the state’s dams due to record low rainfall, highlighted the constraints of Tasmania’s current energy supply.

After six months of repairs by a large team of experts, Basslink returned to service in mid-June, around the same time a feasibility study, parliamentary inquiry and both major political parties voiced support for the construction of a second interconnector and the need for a comprehensive plan for Tasmania’s future energy supply, including a strategy for the increase of renewables.

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DETECTING A PROBLEM Buried beneath the rough seas of Bass Strait and spanning an impressive 290km, Basslink has connected Tasmania to the rest of Australia since it was commissioned in 2006. Owned

by Keppel Infrastructure Trust, the cable runs between George Town in Tasmania and Loy Yang in Victoria and allows

Tasmania to connect to the National Electricity Market (NEM) and buy or sell power to it. During times of peak demand, the cable provides Victoria with renewable energy, or Tasmania can rely on the NEM to protect the state against shortages.

A fault was detected on 20 December 2015 as the interconnector was importing power into Tasmania, but due to the unusual nature of the fault, its location wasn’t identified until March 2016. Then repair work began and allowed for successful restoration in June. Basslink CEO Malcolm Eccles said a large team of experts were brought on board to restore the cable as quickly as possible, but the project wasn’t without its challenges.

“We had more than one hundred people working on the repair project, including specialists in cable jointing, cable burial, ROV operations, fault analysis and HVDC operations. A very large team of highly competent experts from around the world was mobilised and contributed to the project,” Mr Eccles said.

“The primary vessel that was used for the cable repair is a telecoms cable repair and installation vessel. This was the first major subsea repair we had undertaken with this vessel, which posed a number of challenges, given

BASSLINK CEO MALCOLM ECCLES.

the difference in size of telecoms cable in comparison to an HVDC cable.

“As a result, there was a number of modifications to the vessel which were required in order for us to undertake the repair.”

Mr Eccles said identifying the exact location of the fault along the cable was also challenging for a number of reasons, in particular because there was no visible sign of third party aggression, as is often the case with subsea cable faults.

“Basslink is the second longest subsea cable of its type in the world, it spans a notoriously rough section of

CABLES REPAIR OPERATIONS UNDERWAY. THE IDENTIFIED CABLE FAULT.

water, and the depth is typically around 80m,” Mr Eccles said.

The fault was detected at just over 90km from the Tasmanian coastline, but investigations are still underway to find out what caused the fault to occur and if it could happen again. What has been determined is that the problem occurred inside the cable itself, rather than any external interaction with anchors or fishing trawlers. Mr Eccles said that now that it has been successfully repaired and operations

are back to normal, the company will conduct a detailed review.

ENERGY CRISIS The outage of the Basslink coincided with record low rainfall across the state between September 2015 and April 2016, which impacted heavily on the storage levels in Hydro dams.

Renewable energy company Hydro Tasmania has hydropower systems with a total capacity of more than 2,600 megawatts, comprising 55 major

dams and 30 power stations across the state. The combination of low rainfall, low storage levels in the dams and the Basslink outage, helped to create what a parliamentary inquiry called Tasmania’s “energy crisis”.

While the interconnector was undergoing repairs, the Tasmanian Government implemented an Energy Supply Plan to maintain short term energy security. The plan involved bringing online diesel generation, including the Catagunya Power

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CABLES

Station, George Town Substation and Meadowbank Power Station and restoring the full capacity of the Tamar Valley Power Station, as well as Hydro Tasmania conducting commercial arrangement with companies including TEMCO to temporarily reduce their energy consumption.

Mr Eccles said the Basslink fault occurring at a time when dam levels were low had a significant impact.

“The fault meant that Tasmania could not access electricity from the mainland, at a time when water storage levels were low.

“Hydro Tasmania was able to enact an energy management plan which saw it take actions, including recommissioning the Tamar Valley Power Station, deploying diesel generating capacity at strategic locations around the state and negotiating load reductions from major power users,” Mr Eccles said.

Following the Basslink repair and recent rainfall, Hydro Tasmania has since advised the Government

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that it is now in a position to meet Tasmania’s electricity needs with a reduced reliance on supplementary generation. Due to this recent stabilisation, the Catagunya Power Station, Meadowbank power station, George Town substation and Port Latta substation are set to be demobilised in June and July 2016.

ASSESSING FEASIBILITY Given the issues surrounding Tasmania’s energy supply, the Federal and Tasmanian Governments initiated a feasibility study to determine if building a second interconnector would help address the state’s future energy security. Former member for Bass, Warwick Smith conducted the study, with support from the Tasmanian Government and the department of Environment and Industry, Innovation and Science. The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) and Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) also provided input.

The study’s preliminary report

showed strong support for a second interconnector and said, if viable, it could play a big role in increasing renewable development in Tasmania.

The study said a second interconnector would “support long term energy security in Tasmania, assist in the integration of Tasmanian renewable energy into the NEM, support the operation of the NEM and could open the path way for more than 1,000 megawatts of new renewable energy development in Tasmania”.

In the report, Mr Smith said the study sees a second interconnector as fundamental for the long term interests of electricity consumers and has recommended the Federal and State governments commit to supporting its construction.

There has been similar studies in the past, including a 2010 report by the Tasmanian Renewable Energy Industry Development Board, as well as a current assessment by Hydro Tasmania. The difference with Mr Smith’s study is that it considers how a

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TASMANIA’S ENERGY FUTURE Mr Smith and a taskforce including the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, the Department of the Environment, the Treasury and the Australian Energy Market Commission will now research and develop credible scenarios into how a second interconnector could actually be developed.

Both Labor and the Liberal party have voiced their support for a second interconnector and Mr Eccles said, provided there is enough evidence for its value, he also believes it should be looked into further.

“If there is a solid business case to support it, we’ve always said it is something Tasmania should consider,” Mr Eccles said.

The estimated time between approval of a second interconnector and it commencing operation is between five to eight years, so at this point its use is considered a long term plan for Tasmania, rather than a measure to help with current supply,

Mr Smith’s feasibility study estimates a capital cost of $800 million to finance its construction and contends there would need to be significant interaction between the new interconnector and Basslink.

The study states, “If having a second interconnector were to affect the way Hydro Tasmania managed its water resources, this could also have a bearing on Basslink. Basslink will therefore need to be considered in any assessment of feasibility of a second interconnector.”

Given the period of significant change that Australia’s electricity market is undergoing and recent issues surrounding Tasmania’s local energy supply, there has never been a better time to plan for the state’s future security, and assess the impact of renewables and the generation mix in the NEM. Mr Smith and his taskforce will release their final recommendations on the development on a second undersea cable for Tasmania in December 2016

CABLES

second interconnector and an increase in renewable energy development in the state could impact the whole of Australia through the NEM. Mr Eccles also believes renewable energy will factor into Tasmania’s energy future plan.

“I’ve no doubt renewables will play a big part of Tasmania’s energy future,” he said.

“The state already has a proud history and is well-known for its hydro scheme. It is also well placed to tap into emerging wind and wave technologies, given the abundance of both.”

The study concluded that interconnectors have played an important role in the trading of power between different regions of the NEM in the past, including the Basslink assisting with supply for Victoria during an earthquake in 2012, and firmly believes they will continue to be an important piece of infrastructure in the future.

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CABLES

CABLE TESTING ENHANCES

RELIABILITY OF POWER NETWORK

Utility Partner Solutions

by Dong Churl Lee – Senior HV Testing (Condition Monitoring) Engineer at Select Solutions

In late 2013, the failure of just one medium voltage (MV) transformer cable caused a major outage in a critical AusNet Services network, leading to the introduction of a more rigorous testing regime for all newly installed cables.

T

he regime requires all newly installed MV cables to be categorised by the asset owner considering their network contribution and also business impact in the event of service failure. Cables determined to be “critical” to the business then need to be subjected to partial discharge (PD) testing as part of the commissioning program to ensure cables are correctly laid on site and installed according to the manufacturers’ instructions. This process gives cables the best chance of achieving their designed life expectancy.

PD is often referred to as a “cancer” in cables: once it is present, it tends to intensify and eventually lead to a failure.

Studies have found that the damage caused by PD depends on several factors and can range from negligible to causing failure within days to years1. As such, early detection is important. The philosophy behind the new test program is to control the risks of premature failure at the earliest stage possible.

FIGURE 1.

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Figure 1 shows a premature failure on a MV cable that has been in service for less than five years. The picture demonstrates a typical location of premature cable faults in a cable termination, which is at the end of the cable outer semi-conductive screen and the cable insulation. PD can

reside on or near the end of the cable screen if a smooth grading of electric field at the interface is interrupted by incorrect or careless assembly of the termination. Some of the main factors causing the interruption are incorrect application of stress control materials, damage on the outer semi-conductive screen and insulation, or introducing foreign objects such as voids, moisture or contamination during the assembly. The premature cable fault shown in Figure 1 could have been prevented if PD testing had been performed in the commissioning stage.

FACTORY PD TESTING ON CABLES AND ACCESSORIES In Australia, the common test standards for cables and accessories are Australian/New Zealand Standard (AS/NZS) and International Standard (IEC). Each standard requires power frequency voltage of near 50Hz for PD measurement and specifies maximum allowable PD levels for Crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) insulated MV cables and their accessories such as terminations and joints2-5.

XLPE cables have a number of advantages over paper-insulated lead-covered (PILC) cables and are now a mainstream of MV cables. One disadvantage of XLPE cables, though, is that they are less tolerant to PD. The numbers, as outlined in Table 1, imply that even the smallest amount of PD could affect the life expectancy of the XLPE cable and the system – assembly of cables and accessories.

Cable manufacturers should ensure that all cables delivered to site are PD free by conducting PD testing on every single dispatch length in the factory. Australian and international standards as well as most customers’ specifications require PD testing on every dispatch cable length as mandatory. Figure 2 demonstrates how the factory testing is performed on a dispatch cable length.

Unlike cables, accessories can only be proven on site after installation because testing the accessories in the factory only certifies the assembling procedure. It is not guaranteed that the same quality of workmanship will be reproduced on site during actual assembly of the accessories. Hence, cable testing on site should be focused more on accessories, especially on the workmanship of the assembly. However even with the small chance, PD in MV cables after installation is still a possibility and should not be ignored completely.

Test Voltage (40 Hz to 62 Hz – AS/NZS, 49 Hz to 61 Hz – IEC) ) Relevant Standard 1.5U0 AS/NZS 1429.1

Shall not exceed 5pC

Cable

Accessories (terminations, joints, stop-ends and separable connectors)

1.73U0

CABLES

Test Item

2.0U0 Shall not exceed 20pC

-

No detectable PD with PD sensitivity 10pC or better

Test voltage raised to this level before PD measured at 1.73U0

IEC 60502-2

-

-

Shall not exceed 10pC

PD test not required

AS/NZS 4805.1

IEC 60502-4

-

Shall not exceed 10pC

PD test not required

TABLE 1. FACTORY PD TEST REQUIREMENT.

Theoretically, if cables and accessories are correctly installed as per the design and the manufacturers’ instructions to the same quality performed in the factory, the cable system should satisfy the PD requirements in the table. However, field experiences have revealed that there are gaps.

FIGURE 2. PD TESTING OF CABLE ON A REEL.

In 2014, Select Solutions – the business arm of AusNet Services – was engaged to implement AusNet Services’ test program to newly installed MV cables. Based on the criteria in the standards, a field PD testing guideline was established as shown in Table 2. Considering that cables are assembled on site with less control of contaminations, the PD requirements were slightly eased. The aim is to have all post-installation cables categorised as “critical” meet these requirements.

OFFLINE FIELD PD TESTING USING POWER FREQUENCY VOLTAGE Cables are assessed using offline power frequency PD measurement technology. As the tests are performed at 50 Hz, PD activity in the cable system can be observed under the same conditions that exist in service. The tests are also carried out in the same way the cables and the accessories are tested in the factory. Hence, the field testing results on the cable systems should be comparable with their factory test results.

However, there are difficulties in performing power frequency voltage testing in the field. One of the main difficulties is that power frequency testing requires a large power supply due to the large capacitive current of the cable, and subsequently a large mobile test system is required.

Select Solutions’ approach to tackle these problems is the use of a compactSF6 filled test transformer in conjunction with a tuneable reactor compensating the large capacitive current required by the cable (shown in Figure 3).

TABLE 2. FIELD PD TEST REQUIREMENT ON NEWLY INSTALLED CABLE SYSTEM.

Test Item

PD Inception Voltage

Test Voltage (50Hz) 1.2U0

1.5U0

1.73U0

2.0U0

Cable with Heat-Shrink or Cold-Shrink Type Accessories

>1.2U0

No detectable PD

Shall not exceed 20pC

Shall not exceed 20pC

HV withstand test level, PD test not required

Cable with Pre-Mould Type Accessories

>1.73U0

No detectable PD

No detectable PD

No detectable PD

HV withstand test level, PD test not required

97

CABLES

testing, PD measurement is conducted up to 1.73U0. Once a cable demonstrates acceptable levels of PD at 1.73U0, the test voltage is increased to 2U0 for the withstand testing.

After high voltage withstand testing, the test voltage is reduced to 1.73U0 and PD measurement is performed again, which is the most important part of the PD evaluation. Once the cable passes this evaluation level with satisfactory PD performance, the cable is ready for service.

FIGURE 3. 50HZ CABLE TEST TRAILER.

The test trailer is towed by a dedicated test van equipped with a controller for the test transformer and PD monitoring instruments. The test system is capable of energising up to 1km of 22kV rated cables at the high voltage withstand test voltage level of 25.4kV but with supply current of less than 20A at 415V. The required power was easily accessible from substation power points or a generator.

One challenge in field PD testing is mitigating electrical interferences. Especially in substations where PD measurement needs to be done near live apparatus, maintaining background noise to the desired levels of less than 20pC is often very difficult. To tackle this problem, PD is measured at carefully chosen high-frequency ranges where signal to noise ratio is maximal. Often the measuring frequency has to be extended to more than 1MHz and sometimes even up to 3MHz to avoid strong interferences.

Even in that extended frequency range, it was found that the PD sensitivity was still very high with only 20 per cent to 30 per cent loss of sensitivity at the far end of the cable.

With the aid of the advanced filtering technology, background noise levels of about 10pC to 20pC were achievable during field measurement.

TEST RESULTS AND OUTCOMES This testing program has been in progress for the last three years and a total of 225 newly installed critical cables and individual cable cores have been tested during this period. 155 out of 225 cables, which is 69 per cent of all tested cables, have passed the PD requirements. The other 70 cables (31 per cent) that did not pass the initial PD testing were repaired and subsequently retested before they were put in service.

FIGURE 5. PHASE RESOLVED PD PATTERN.

FIGURE 4. FIELD PD TESTING ON 22KV CABLES.

It is important to locate the source of PD once it is detected in the cable system so that appropriate repairs can take place. Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) is a primary method used for PD localisation. When cables are too short for this technology to work, acoustic PD detection method can be used. Select Solutions found that PD quantities of as low as 100pC can be detected in cable terminations using ultrasound PD scanning. However the sensitivity of the acoustic detection depends on the location and type of the defect in the cable terminations.

High voltage withstand testing is also conducted during the PD measurement. Prior to the high voltage withstand

98

No cable has failed during high voltage withstand testing at 2U0. Most importantly, none of the 225 new tested cables have yet been reported for service failure.

One of the most critical components of cable terminations for PD performance is the stress control materials applied to the cable insulation and the semi-conductive screen. The majority of the terminations that were tested were heat shrink tube type and often reheating of the termination resolved the PD problem. One of the reasons could be that heating of the termination helps the stress control materials to stick well to the cable. However, this does not work all the time. If PD does not improve after reheating of the termination, retermination of the cable should be seriously considered.

CABLES

17 out of the total 450 tested terminations (3.8 per cent) had to be reterminated to pass the PD requirements. Only one cable (0.4%) out of the total 225 tested cables had to be replaced due to PD presence.

Figure 6 shows PD in a 22kV cable due to damaged insulation as a result of poor workmanship during the assembly of the termination. It also demonstrates very low PD inception voltage. The cable had to be completely cut at the location of the damage and stripped again for retermination.

The PD testing program has also been educating cable jointers involved in installing the tested cables. The jointers are now more aware of the importance of their workmanship in cable assembly and their contribution to network reliability.

Select Solutions continues in 2016 to undertake AusNet Services’ test program for newly installed MV cables to help enhance the reliability of their power network.

FIGURE 6. RETERMINATION AS A RESULT OF POOR WORKMANSHIP.

REFERENCES 1. IEEE Guide for Partial Discharge Testing of Shielded Power Cable Systems in a Field Environment, IEEE Power Engineering Society, IEEE Std 400.3 – 2006.

2. AS/NZS 1429.1:2006 Electric cables – Polymeric insulated Part 1: For working voltages 1.9/3.3(3.6) kV up to and including 19/33(36)kV, Australian/New Zealand Standard, 2006.

3. IEC 60502-2:2014-02 Edition 3.0 Power cables with extruded insulation and their accessories for rated voltages from 1kV (Um = 1.2kV) up to 30kV (Um = 36kV) – Part 2: Cables for rated voltages from 6kV (Um = 7.2kV) up to 30kV (Um = 36kV), International Standard, February 2014.

4. AS/NZS 4805.1:2007 Accessories for electric cables – Test requirements Part 1: Power cables with extruded insulation for rated voltages from 1.9/3.3(3.6)kV up to and including 19/33(36)kV, Australian/New Zealand Standard, 2007.

5. IEC 60502-4:2010-12 Edition 3.0 Power cables with extruded insulation and their accessories for rated voltages from 1kV (Um = 1.2kV) up to 30kV (Um = 36kV) – Part 4: Test requirements on accessories for cables with rated voltages from 6kV (Um = 7.2kV) up to 30kV (Um = 36kV), International Standard, December 2010.

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NBN

ENGINEERING AUSTRALIA’S

BROADBAND FUTURE

To gain an inside look at the engineering and deployment of Australia’s National Broadband Network, Utility spoke to Kathrine Dyer, Executive General Manager, National Deployment Support and Enablement, Network Engineering & Deployment at nbn.

U

tility talked to Ms Dyer about a range of topics, ranging from her career path to nbn and her role in the rollout, to the project’s progress, connection technologies and what it takes to be a leader working on such a large and publicly visible project.

100

THE PATH TO THE NBN Before working at nbn, Ms Dyer worked supporting fibre deployment in the private sector, a role that, at the time, was considered “niche” and potentially career-limiting.

“Prior to nbn I worked in various roles at Telstra for almost 17 years,” said Ms Dyer. “In the years leading up to my move to nbn, I took on a leadership role within a new division to support the deployment of fibre into Greenfields estates.

“I was told by many people around me – not unkindly, but very matter of fact – that a female would never be appointed into that type of leadership role and that I was jeopardising my career by moving into a niche area. I was very pleased that Telstra provided me with the opportunity, and taking on and thriving in that role was a crucial milestone in my professional journey.”

Joining nbn at a time of upheaval, Ms Dyer had to hit the ground running and played an important role in establishing the company’s business model.

“I joined nbn to establish the New Developments (Greenfields team) in 2010,” she said. “This was six weeks before nbn became the Infrastructure Provider of Last Resort, and I quickly had to establish the company’s business model. Joining this early

was a significant opportunity and challenge for me. I had moved from an organisation which was established (and large) to one that was rapidly working to establish itself – the paradigm could not have been more different and this really challenged me professionally and personally.”

Ms Dyer says that the significance of the NBN to Australia and the challenges and opportunities it provides were part of what drew her to the project.

“The nbn is a nation-building

project, it is connecting all Australian communities to fast broadband and helping to bridge the digital divide.

“With a focus on getting underserved areas connected as quickly as possible and applying a no one gets left behind approach, the task to rollout the nbn network across our 7.6 million square km land mass is huge.

“This presents challenges and opportunities and for people in our field that’s incredibly exciting to be a part of.

“I also had a keen interest in fibre

deployments to Greenfield estates, nbn offered me the opportunity to establish a new business on a large scale – a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

WORKING ON A NATION-BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT Ms Dyer’s current role with nbn involves leading a team responsible for a variety of functions to ensure the effective engineering and deployment of the rollout.

“My current role is Executive General Manager Network Engineering & Deployment,” she said. “The role covers a range of national functions, which support the planning, design and build of the nbn.”

Ms Dyer has a team of General Managers who run their own national functions. The areas that the team covers include: • Pre-construction activities for Greenfield builds, such as new housing estates, apartment buildings, telecommunications alongside new road builds • Introduction of new technology within the design and build program • Land access and stakeholder engagement to support design and build activities • Providing field enablement tools, including IT platforms • Engagement with power utilities nationally • Determining the early engagement approach for design and build for complex premises or areas, such as shopping centres, airports and business parks.

NBN, Ms Dyer emphasised the real progress the organisation is making.

“This financial year we are targeting to double our rollout figures from last year. Already we have 2.5 million homes able to order a service. At June 30 last year this figure was just over 1.1 million. So we are learning every day and getting better and faster at building the network.

“The other thing people should know is that we have two enormous years ahead. We doubled our footprint of premises ready for service this year, and we plan to double that figure again next year.”

NBN

KATHRINE DYER.

Ms Dyer’s achievements at nbn have been significant and there are several that she is particularly proud of.

“Having the opportunity to establish new teams on multiple occasions and seeing them become successful has been a highlight. A specific example was in 2012. I was asked to look at how nbn could operationalise land access powers utilising the Low Impact Facilities Determination (LiFD) to speed up the Brownfields rollout. Specifically, around lead-in work to properties and the internal cabling of apartment buildings. Utilising land access to support construction activities in a mass market required a lot of external consultation with industry, the Government and stakeholders impacted by our proposed strategy.

“I prepared a strategy which required careful implementation internally and externally to ensure the program was effective and risks managed. The strategy was implemented and is very successful in streamlining construction activity and the delivery of connections to customers.”

According to Ms Dyer, an awareness of the significance of the rollout is amongst the essential qualities for those working on the project in leadership roles.

“At nbn we are very much one team who are all focused on delivering the network to eight million homes and businesses by 2020. Additionally, as a government business enterprise, our stakeholders are ultimately all Australians, so we have to approach the work with this in mind and ensure that we set clear goals, measure progress, take accountability and prioritise the right things.

“For me personally, it is being able to manage the challenges of a complex portfolio whilst ensuring I am clearing the way for my team’s success. It is also important for me to provide a clear linkage to my group’s purpose to how we support the rollout of the nbn network and how important this is to the company and Australia.”

When asked what she wished more people knew or understood about the

MAKING THE MOST OF NETWORK TECHNOLOGY Large amounts of work go into each nbn connection product before it is released and begins to be rolled out by contractors as part of the multi-technology mix. Ms Dyer provided some insight into the process of preparing new technologies for inclusion in the rollout.

“The products are all developed with very detailed technical testing. We undertake vendor testing, site testing, environment tests, in-field pilots and commercial pre-launch tests.

“As an example, our soon to be released HFC offering has been undergoing seven months of in-field testing at hundreds of premises in Queensland. This of course is the last phase before go-live so the pre work to get to this stage is significant.”

Ms Dyer said that the impact of each additional product release on her own role at nbn is dependent on the product in question.

“The impact depends on the product. However, generally speaking my group coordinates the design and build activities for business as usual deployment into the rollout program.

My role within nbn is very specifically focused on enabling design and build and therefore I am part of the broader ecosystem relating to product launches.”

Currently, Ms Dyer’s team is working on progressing the nbn product roadmap and optimising the connection

101

NBN

102

technologies used in the rollout.

“HFC is an exciting project that we launched in June and we have achieved excellent results in a pilot in Redcliffe, Queensland, where end users are receiving close to 100/40Mbps speeds,” said Ms Dyer.

“Getting more out of our existing networks is a key focus. On DOCSIS 3.0, our speed test in Blacktown achieved close to 400Mbps/50Mbps.

“We will launch HFC with DOCSIS 3.0 technology and progress to launching the Gigabit capable DOCSIS 3.1 technology in the second half of 2017,” said Ms Dyer. “We’re also doing the pre-work and testing for the launch of the second Sky Muster satellite.”

Ms Dyer said that it is important to note that the end user experience, including the speeds actually achieved over the nbn network, depend on the technology over which services are delivered to the end user’s premises and some factors outside nbn’s control, like equipment quality, software,

broadband plans, signal quality and how the end user’s service provider designs its network.

However, nbn has a number of initiatives underway to ensure that the HFC network is optimised for providing Australian premises with fast broadband.

“We are putting a lot more capacity into our HFC networks by substantially upgrading equipment at the exchange with state-of-the-art DOCSIS 3.1 Cable Modem Termination Systems being installed,” she said. “We are also re-engineering the network in the field by conducting node-splits, meaning fewer end-users are on each node, but are being served with more capacity.

“DOCSIS 3.1 simply delivers far more capacity into the network by using the spectrum more efficiently (around 50 per cent more spectrally efficient).

“For nbn, the process of delivering DOCSIS 3.1 is relatively straightforward – we need to upgrade our CMTS to

full DOCSIS 3.1 capability (by inserting DOCSIS 3.1 line-cards) – and we also need end-users to have a DOCSIS 3.1 Network Termination Device connected to their modem.”

Node-splitting will also be important in optimising the ratio of nodes to premises in the HFC network.

“On an HFC network, fibre is driven out from the exchange out into the streets and terminates at a powered ‘node’ from which a neighbourhood is then served by coaxial cable,” said Ms Dyer. “The capacity from each node is then shared by the users connected to it.

“We will be designing the new HFC network in such a way that there will be fewer users connected to each node than is currently the case in order to meet the needs of end-users and deliver the plans we are selling to our RSPs.” Also on Ms Dyer’s radar is fibre-tothe-distribution point (FTTdp), another potential connection product, and how it may factor into the network.

LEVERAGING INDUSTRY EXPERTISE Effective collaboration and a skilled workforce are vital for the success of the National Broadband Network rollout. nbn is seeking to leverage Australia’s existing industry expertise in a number of ways, including a recent deal with Telstra

to provide planning, design, construction and construction management services within the existing Telstra Hybrid FibreCoaxial (HFC) footprint.

According to Ms Dyer, this publicprivate cooperation has large benefits for the efficiency of the project, and the bottom line, deploying existing network expertise to the benefit of the project.

“Working with Telstra will enable nbn to deliver the HFC component of the nbn network in a time and cost efficient manner. nbn and Telstra have already begun work in several locations to switch Telstra HFC areas over to the nbn.”

Growing Australian expertise is also important for the project, with initiatives underway to increase the project’s workforce.

“To build and operate the nbn network, we estimate the skilled workforce available to our service delivery partners needs to grow by around 4,500 roles – nearly doubling the current number employed during peak construction in 2018.

“Through the Industry Workforce Development Program, nbn is committing nearly $40 million for industry skills training, awareness campaign, and developing a national skills register to help our construction partners recruit, train and develop employees across Australia. This is one of the largest drives in the telecommunications industry for some time.

“The program will target career starters, general job seekers and experienced telco workers who have vital skills and knowledge of the existing telecommunications network.”

Ms Dyer is enthusiastic about the opportunities working on the project can provide. She especially encourages women to get involved and, like her, not to be discouraged from pursuing career paths considered to be traditionally male-dominated.

“As a senior leader at nbn, I would encourage females to consider nbn as a great career option,” she said.

NBN

“FTTdp is an exciting prospect for the company but it is a very new technology,” she said. “It is not currently being deployed anywhere in the world at scale.

“A lot more work needs to be done in terms of field testing of the equipment for Australian conditions. We also need to know more about the financials and the rollout logistics, but we’re currently expecting there will be some premises to be served by FTTdp. “FTTdP has two big advantages.

Most notably there is no need for mains power and secondly there is no need to run new Lead In Conduit to the property as the existing copper line is used.”

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103

The utility industry is regularly required to call on an enormous and varied range of specialists; from mapping, to drilling, to wastewater treatment, to asset management, to pipe relining, to pipeline integrity, to land access, to risk management, and the list goes on. To make the process a little easier, Utility magazine is bringing together experts from various fields to answer your questions.

HDD

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE KEY STEPS TO TAKE TO ENSURE NO DAMAGE IS CAUSED DURING AN HDD INSTALLATION? There are several factors to consider. The five most important things to think about are: 1. Pilot hole profile The as drilled profile of the bore will have an effect on the pull force and abrasion the pipe is exposed to during pullback. This maybe in areas where doglegs (rapid change in direction) have been created, which often occur at formation changes from soft to hard or hard to soft, or where radii of the pipe have not been maintained. The driller’s log, the steering engineers log and survey data should be examined on completion of the pilot hole to identify any potential areas that could be out of specification or cause a potential problem during reaming and insertion.

2. Hole reaming The speed of the reaming pass should be calculated to ensure the correct pump volume has been used for the given penetration rate. For example, the cut volume of a 24” ream following a 12” pilot hole is approximately 2m3/range two drill pipe. If the solids being removed are measured at 20 per cent of mud volume and pump rate is 1,000Lpm, then the ream should take ten minutes (1,000 x 0.2 x 10 = 2,000 L (2m3). The driller’s log should indicate the time per joint, and the mud logs/test report should indicate the percentage of solids in the mud returns. Also, as a rough guide, a volumetric check of the cuttings stockpiled on site can be equated against the complete hole volume.

3. Mud properties On completion of the pilot hole, and once the bore is open at both ends, the fluid must be configured to suspended and the cuttings indicated in the geotechnical investigations must be removed. Cuttings suspension and transportation should be observed at the entry pit, and often cuttings will be deposited directly after exiting the bore. This implies the fluid velocity, along with the viscosity (gel strength), is important in cutting transport, but as soon as the 104

velocity decreases after exiting the bore the cuttings fall out of suspension. Mud logs and test records should be examined to understand the fluid properties that were employed for each reaming stage, and their ability to suspend and remove coarse grained cuttings such as sand and gravel.

4. Cleaning pass It is good practice to conduct a cleaning pass with a under gauge barrel reamer after completing the reaming pass. For example, the barrel I would recommend for a 24” hole would be 20-22”. A smaller barrel would not correctly identify problem areas and potentially skip over or under any cuttings beds/ restrictions/instability. This pass should then be used to gauge the condition of the bore and its readiness for pipe insertion. Sometimes it will be observed that sections are exposed to higher torque, which would indicate cuttings, collapse or hole shrinkage. The driller should then swab back through the section to ensure stability before completing the pass. If any concerns remain an additional cleaning pass can be rerun.

5. Pullback The pipe must be correctly aligned with the borehole and enter the HDD central to the hole at the correct angle. A lifting plan should be developed to confirm the position and height of the supports. For large diameter steel pipelines and HDPE or FPVC pipes the buoyancy of the pipe should be considered, as it displaces the drilling fluid from the bore. It may be necessary to fill or partially fill the pipe to create neutral buoyancy to reduce drag and therefore the insertion force and potential coating abrasion.

ABOUT CHARLES STOCKTON UK-born Charles Stockton has been a part of the HDD sector in Australasia since 2003. He is the Managing Director of Stockton Drilling Services, a leading engineering consultancy specialising in HDD and other trenchless pipeline installation methods.

MICROTUNNELLING SAFETY SHOULD BE THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY ACROSS ALL MICROTUNNELLING JOB SITES, BUT HOW CAN YOU BE SURE THAT YOUR CONTRACTOR IS TAKING SAFETY MEASURES SERIOUSLY ACROSS THE BOARD? TO WHAT EXTENT CAN YOU TRUST THEIR EQUIPMENT SAFETY MEASURES, AND HOW CAN YOU ENSURE THAT PERSONNEL CONSISTENTLY CHOOSE SAFETY FIRST? From advanced equipment technologies to their construction business model, there are a number of things microtunnellers can do to ensure that safety requirements are kept at a high level without fail.

Thanks to organisations like WorkSafe Australia, there has been a growth of awareness in overall safety within the drilling industry. From my experience, having seen and worked on many jobsites internationally, Australia leads the way in site safety and awareness.

However, the reality of jobsite safety is that there is a lot of old equipment still being used by contractors throughout the country. The newer the equipment, the more safety features included, so it is important to choose a contractor with up-to-date machinery.

Things to look out for that can make a microtunnelling contractor safer include: • Operator protection from the surrounding environment.

Being in the bottom of a launch pit operating a microtunnelling machine opens up operators to the risk of being struck with falling objects. Look for a contractor who has a Falling Object Protective System (FOPS)

safety enclosure as part of their set up •

In-built pressure gauges. Pressure gauges feed information to the operator of the machine, notifying them of changes in ground pressure – with this information, operators can change path if necessary to avoid dangerous situations such as asset strikes

•

An operator who will complete a pilot shot. Doing so enables the operator to assess the ground conditions, so when it comes time to begin drilling, again they’re more likely to involve costly and dangerous asset strikes

•

Minimal pit requirements. A microtunneller that is able to reduce the number of pits required during construction – and the amount of time operators spend getting into and out of pits – will make the entire job safer for the crew, and safer for the local community.

ABOUT STUART HARRISON Global microtunnelling pioneer Stuart Harrison is the Managing Director of Edge Underground, where he specialises in on-grade microtunnelling installations with millimetre accuracy. Stuart is also the inventor of the Vermeer AXIS Guided Boring system, and he is constantly working to improve the effectiveness of this and other trenchless systems used in the installation of gravity sewers. To discuss your next microtunnelling installation, contact Stuart on 0458 000 009 or at stuart@edgeunderground.co.

105

EVENTS

106

TOWARDS A WATER WISE WORLD

T

he international community increasingly recognises water as one of the major risks facing the world, with water ranked by the World Economic Forum as the top global risk over the coming decade. The growing attention to water challenges provides an opportunity to shape the direction of our common water future.

Water professionals have a key role in delivering the wise water management of the future, and to turn the global water crisis into a once-in-a-generation opportunity to drive sustainable development at an unprecedented scale.

The water wise world satisfies the needs of human activities and ecosystems in an equitable and sustainable way. To get there, we need to dramatically reduce the number of people with no safe access to water and sanitation. We need to reduce the amount of untreated used water, and water wasted from dripping pipes and leaking waterways. We need to re-use water that has served its economic purpose and recycle it together with the materials and energy within it.

We need to replenish rivers, lakes and groundwater reserves to create the resilience needed to absorb the shocks from floods and droughts.

The Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015 will be shaping water policies, practices and research agendas for years to

come. Yet, many of us are just starting to grapple with how to translate these ambitious goals into our own work.

The 2016 IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition, held in Brisbane, Australia, will emphasize the sustainable development agenda and explore the linkages to the day-to-day work and future ambitions of the water sector.

The demands on water professionals to provide innovative solutions continue to grow. Water professionals, and those with a professional interest in water, need to stay current by updating and enhancing their skills, knowledge and know-how. The World Water Congress & Exhibition is a rallying point for water professionals grappling with the challenges of delivering sustainable water management now and in the future.

Bringing together science, technology, policy and practice, the congress is a unique opportunity to learn about the latest trends in leading practices, innovative technologies and pioneering science.

It provides a unique opportunity for professional development and networking, and showcases successful examples of delivering clean water to growing populations; cleaning up polluted river systems at scale; industrial water management; publicâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;private partnerships for service delivery; new policies and regulations in emerging

economies; and benchmarking of water and wastewater service providers.

Held in Australia, where the water challenges have led to the development of an industry that is innovative and focused on results, Brisbane is a premium destination for water professionals.

This expertise is in demand internationally and Australian organisations and companies providing water management services, technologies and solutions for the water industry are renowned for their innovation, efficiency and capability.

The challenges that face the water sector are shared by all, and will require us to work together with other sectors and a much wider range of stakeholders to deliver sustainable solutions. Only new insights in pioneering science, technological innovation and leading practices can shape the major transformation in water management that is now underway.

See you in Brisbane!

IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition 2016 09-14 OCTOBER 2016, BRISBANE, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA

Shaping our Water Future Registration now open Book your stand space now www.worldwatercongress.org

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Stormwater 16.............................................81 SUEZ............................................................33 Taylors..........................................................61 The Water Report........................................15 SALES DEADLINE TBC

AUGUST 2017

Thermo Fisher Scientific Australia ��������������28 Total Drain Cleaning Services.....................2-3 Trility.......................................................70-71

MAJOR FEATURES

SPECIAL FOCUS

EQUIPMENT &

WIOA SPECIAL

SCADA, SECURITY

MACHINERY

GAS PIPELINES

AND SOFTWARE

PIPE & CONDUIT

TRENCHLESS TECH

WASTEWATER TREATMENT

CABLES

STORMWATER

PIPE RELINING

EXCAVATORS

RENEWABLES

DRAIN CLEANING

VACUUM EXCAVATION

ASSET MANAGEMENT

WASTE MANAGEMENT TRAINING

Vacuworx Australia......................................95 VEGA Australia.............................................19 Velox Aviation.............................................103 Vermeer..................................................... IFC Vortex Hire...................................................18 WIOA.........................................................IBC Xylem...........................................................31 Zinfra Group.................................................27

JOIN US AT THE VIC WATER INDUSTRY OPERATIONS CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION

Bendigo 31 August & 1 September 2016 Promoting best practice in water management by building the knowledge, skills and networks of industry operators. WIOA annual conferences provide a medium for individuals involved in water operations to: • Listen to the experience of others through the latest “operational” technical and research based information through platform and poster presentations.

• View and discuss the latest advances in technical equipment, products and services with suppliers and trade consultants • Update their knowledge and skills through interaction with fellow water industry employees.

All water industry personnel involved in the operation and maintenance of urban, rural and industrial water related infrastructure for the management, conveyance, treatment, discharge and reuse of water and trade wastes should attend this conference.

194

Exhibition Sites

SOLD OUT Water Industry Operators Association of Australia (WIOA)

Sponsorship Opportunities Available

WIOA is a national association with a primary role of facilitating the collection, development and exchange of quality information between people undertaking operational roles in the water industry.

Take advantage of the opportunity to position your company as a leader in water management by aligning your company as a supporter of the leading non-profit organisation serving the needs of operators in the water industry.

Supported by

For more information on exhibiting or sponsorship, visit the conference website.

Sponsored by

Water Corporations Victoria

REGISTER NOW

W wioaconferences.org.au

E info@wioa.org.au

P 03 5821 6744

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